


Secret World's Chosen Few

by Kerica



Category: The Secret World, 신의 탑 | Tower of God
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Twins, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Blood and Gore, Dark Fantasy, Demons, Future Polyamory, Horror, Lovecraftian, Lovecraftian Monster(s), M/M, Magic and Science, Psychological Horror, Secret Organizations, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:00:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29553897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerica/pseuds/Kerica
Summary: What is a legend, but a grain of truth shrouded in mystery and intrigue?In a world where conspiracy theories, occult magic and monsters from the depts of hell come alive, a pair of Golden Twins, a Sun Bull, and a Blue Angel band together to solve the mystery of the Filth plaguing not only Solomon Island, but Egypt, Transelvania, Tokyo and beyond.
Relationships: Baam | Jyu Viole Grace/Khun Aguero Agnis, Khun Aguero Agnis/Twenty-Fifth Baam | Jyu Viole Grace/Twenty-Fifth Baam | Jyu Viole Grace
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	1. Haunting Dreams and Mystery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ablublub0811](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ablublub0811/gifts).



> Thank you Mystic for betaing this for me you're a sweetie!!!
> 
> \---
> 
> To all those of TOG who like dark and gritty stuff : D enjoy!  
> ^Edit - A mild change! I have gifted this to Lin from my ToG server :D hi hello I saw your wish for an apocalypse au so here we are
> 
> \---
> 
> In the future there will be mild nudity mentioned and sexual themes so be warned.

  * a) The outfit he's wearing is an amalgamation of what he usually wears, **[this outfit](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/38/56/4b/38564b114892415929da11fb45ba0e5e.jpg)** , and his **[Flood of Death](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/ae/7c/a8/ae7ca8ea23186753a7c2fe815159b0a6.jpg)** trench coat
  * b) yes that white blade with the silver handle is the **[Heavenly Mirror](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/52/6c/b3/526cb3ade7b8e88593d8b08b64758f1e.jpg) **and no there isn't a blade similar to it in the actual game [except **[maybe this](https://legacy.tswdb.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SW_Blade-of-the-dawn_gold.png)** but it's gold]
  * c) the lantern is a **[weapon skin](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/65/bd/d1/65bdd1b0f039c2012bacee1bf4020c13.jpg) **that can be gotten in the 3rd zone of Solomon Island, Blue Mountain [and I thought it was pretty and that it suited Khun]



Watch [**this playlist**](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6O5oLD0-JSmJKJUOz3kmp4-OWRGdirx7) for this chapter. You can imagine it as Bam's experience through these dreams!

* * *

**_One Week Ago_ **

The radio he had fallen asleep to switched to a report, but Khun Aguero Agnis was fast asleep.

_Further developments in Tokyo where the military is maintaining a heavily guarded perimeter around the site of last month’s terrorist attack. The Japanese government has stated the unidentified radical political group released a biological agent in the Tokyo subway less than 1 kilometer from a Russian town. Although the area has been evacuated, there have been eyewitness reports of activity inside the perimeter including ongoing fighting between a Roxy security personnel and armed civilians. The authorities are denying these reports and the military has barred anyone from approaching within 100 meters of the temporary perimeter._

Unbeknownst to Khun, one of Argartha’s bees slipped in through his open window. He didn’t know what being a Chosen meant, but he would soon find out as it slid down his throat and dissolved into his very being.

* * *

_You will see the end of days…_

Rain. Had it been raining when he went to bed? Khun didn’t understand why he felt it beating on his face and he blinked open cobalt eyes. It felt too real. Too cold and biting.

_You will see the dawning of a new age…_

Was this a dream? Who was that deep voice speaking? It wasn’t anything he recognized, from a movie or from his day-to-day life. 

Khun stirred a little more, the rain cold and harsh. His surroundings were grey and gloomy and he sat up. Were those…asteroids floating around in the sky ahead?

_To be a monarch or a beggar. To lose everything or to become a god._

The moon…it was so large and so close. Wait…as he stared closely at it, he felt fear grip him and he inhaled sharply. 

The celestial body was **broken** into crumbling pieces.

_To stand with us or against us…the choice is yours._

Standing, he glanced around but saw nothing else. 

With or against who?

Only the vast, endless black sea was in front of him, the moon’s light casting an eerie turquoise glow over the water.

_Remember this…_

* * *

Khun bolted upright in bed, clutching at his throat and coughing. What…? What was that? Who was that voice? Why was the moon _destroyed_?

He heaved, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. Just a dream. He had to tell himself it was only a dream. He was safe, he was fine. The moon outside was intact and lighting up his bed. 

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, tossing off the covers, he stared at his clock. Damn, it was only midnight? There was no way he was sleeping now. Groaning, he reached out for the water glass. Why did his throat feel like shit? Was he getting sick?

Blue surrounded his hand and the glass exploded in front of his eyes. 

His nightstand was _on fire_ , glass everywhere, and all Khun could do was stare at it in shock. Blue flames licked upwards.

Slowly, he reached out for the fire, confused since he didn’t feel any heat from it and it wasn’t catching anything else ablaze. He could also blame it on his half-asleep mind.

Blue curled towards his fingers and the nightstand wasn’t on fire anymore. Not a singe left behind.

Khun’s hands shook as he brought them up to stare at his palms. 

Was that a dream?

* * *

**_Four Days Ago_ **

Books, CDs, more glass, throw pillows from his couch. Chairs and tables and picture frames. Shoes, magazines, his coffee mug. All of it. On the ground in disarray.

Khun was curled into a ball in the corner of his room, heaving and groaning as sweat dripped down his brow. He may have an entire flat to himself, but how the neighbors hadn’t called the cops was beyond him. 

Oh no. No, nonono, he felt the surge spike through his body and he gripped his knees tighter, trying to hold it back but his eyes snapped open. They were glowing bright blue and he knew what they looked like after seeing them in the bathroom mirror, which was now in shattered pieces.

His body was literally thrown around, out of his control and he was hovering in the air, muscles tensed with pain and too much energy. Which burst from him a moment later in a blaze of blue, his scream silent since his throat was too raw and hoarse to produce any more sound. 

The coffee table he had straightened earlier was toppled over again, the long since cold coffee splattering all over. His body was dropped but as he swayed, about to topple over, he was yanked up again, body spread-eagle, head thrown back with his eyes towards the ceiling. His energy wave was strong enough to knock over the couch this time, beams of it pouring from his eyes and mouth, blinding him. How did it not go to the room above, collapsing the ceiling? How did it not alert anyone? 

Why was he left alone to suffer?

When he was released he toppled back, unconscious and if he had been aware, he would’ve hoped maybe this time he died and was put out of his misery.

* * *

_**~Cemetery Dream~** _

When Khun woke up, he sure as hell thought he had. 

Ravens making a ‘ca-ca-caw’ sound outside his window in what _appeared_ to be his room woke Khun up, and he was so freaked out he was scrambling from his bed in no time. He was dressed, not even in the clothes he’d been wearing when he was in his living room earlier. His blue autumn trench coat, black oxford shoes, black slacks, and his one of many white button-down shirts with his tie slung around his neck. 

Staring out past what was clearly his broken door, wallpaper ripped and exposed to show the brick underneath, he heard a woman’s voice.

_“Closer, child.”_

Slowly, soles of his shoes tapping on the wood and then crunching on gravel, Khun left the desolate husk of his room. Seeing what was out in front of him made his stomach roll. Was he dead? A tall iron fence with an intricate-looking gate that had a curved top. Past it was rows and rows of _gravestones_ , and a large stone angel just beyond the gate. Was that a mausoleum, too?

_“The world trembles...you must learn or be swept away.”_

The woman spoke again. She had white hair that went to her shoulders and white clothes that consisted of a cinched jacket and white slacks. She also had pale skin. In a way, she reminded him of an Arie, but she gave off a calm, albeit urgent, feel about her. Cautiously, Khun stepped closer to her, “Who are you?” he inquired, frowning. 

_“For now, I am the Dream Architect.”_

“That is…?” Khun turned his head a bit to give her some side-eye, only to jump when she was consumed in bright white light, shielding his eyes.

_“Haste…”_

A glowing yellow-orange circle expanded out from where she disappeared, and there were blinking hexagon shapes that oddly reminded Khun of honeycomb.

To his right, the gate swung open with a cliche-sounding squeak, and he took that as his cue to go through it to the statue. Now he was in front of it, he could tell it wasn’t just any angel, but Archangel Michael, with a snake that had a demonic head curling around him, and the angel was holding a massive sword. 

At the base of it, there was a black crate with the lid open, and two items were sitting in the foam. A white blade with an intricate silver handle, and what appeared to be a lantern that had an angled pipe flashlight. The lantern itself had a lovely design with what looked like pearls embedded into the metal. Brass?

Picking them up, he noticed at least the lantern looked like it had a strap that would attach to his belt, so he did and simply spun the blade around his fingers, testing the weight of it. 

Glancing up and around at the cemetery again, stomping down the creeped out feeling and the memories of too many funerals, he saw something by the second gate that made his veins feel like ice. 

Was that...a zombie?

The zombie was wiggling as if it was stuck, and he crept towards it, keeping his guard up. The same woman from before materialized, and he saw it was trapped beneath a break in the fencing, the bars bent and twisted.

_“The dead are rising to the siren’s call. Destroy them.”_

Okay, so he was supposed to kill it. That seemed way too easy, but Khun figured whether this was a dream or he was dead, he didn’t really have much to lose. So he twisted the sword in his hand and drove it down through the creature’s skull. A gurgle and it’s arms swung out, trying to reach for him, but it went limp the following second and Khun yanked the sword back out. 

_“Basic abilities are as effortless as breathing, but Power abilities draw upon your reservoir of energy.”_

Abilities and powers? Basic? Was this like the blue fire and energy waves he’d been having the last few days? He could grasp that. The tingle of his fingertips and the way it made the hairs on his arms stand on end like static. So this dream was going to teach him how to fight and harness it?

The second gate swung open.

_“Lay the dead to rest. Silence the call.”_

Seemed like he was right and he saw a few more zombies rising from the ground in bursts of soil. Sure, if this was a dream he could have a little fun with it and see what he could do when he was the one in control and not the magic. When he could bend it to his will and use it how he wanted.

Three zombies pounced as soon as he jumped into the fray, but he was confident and ready for them. A dance of death, spinning and twisting around the monsters, slicing and creating gashes across their bodies until he was able to send their heads rolling and they collapsed onto the ground. Smirking, satisfied with his handiwork, he shook off the blood and kept walking the gravel path to the third gate.

_Be mindful of the voices. They will whisper in your sleep._

**_Listen to the voices that whisper in your sleep_ ** _._

An echo of voices, the Dream Architect and a male’s voice overlapped each other. It made goosebumps erupt across Khun’s flesh. 

_“You must learn focus and control! The Watchers will intervene only in dreams and only once…”_

A surge through his body nearly made him panic, remembering the way he felt before a rolling wave that was the cause of his apartment’s destruction. When that didn’t happen he relaxed and released a low breath, staring at the white-haired woman with narrowed eyes. “What’d you do to me?”

_“Every weapon becomes a unique focus for your abilities. Your elemental focus warms to your will - but balance is required to harness thermotic powers.”_

Elemental powers? That made Khun’s head tilt in curiosity, “Alright then, I’ll bite. How do I balance it?”

_“Generating heat causes more damage, but you have to mind yourself so you do not overheat. You recover from and prevent overheating with cold abilities.”_ The woman responded with the same ease of a teacher who’s explained this a thousand times.

She continued, explaining it further, _“Use fire or lightning abilities to increase how much heat you exert. As you get hotter, all elemental powers deal more damage. If you overheat, you won’t be able to use another hot ability until you cool down. To do that, use cold powers to regulate your temperature.”_

So not only could he use fire _and_ ice, but he could use lightning as well? There was a glow from the lantern on his hip and he peered down at it. Did it contain his powers? Was it a conduit or a focus object for him to stay under control? Lifting his head he was about to ask it out loud, only to come face to face with a _demon_ hanging from what _had_ been an empty pole a moment ago. Head wrapped, it couldn’t even see him, and the _thing_ also looked emaciated. The arms were twisted back so far it seemed as though they were dislocated, and there were bindings all around it. “What the fuck _is_ that?” Khun demanded, sickened. 

_“The Rakshasa have also come to heed the call. Have pity, but spare them no mercy. They were once like you.”_

Once like him? What did that even mean? Heed the song…she mentioned the song earlier with the first zombie. Was this even a dream?

Stepping back, Khun slipped the blade into his belt and focused. Fire. Feel the way it warms…his palms quickly got hot, as if he was hovering them too close to a fireplace, only it didn’t burn him or feel painful. Shifting his stance sideways, he felt like it was so cliche, but he envisioned a fireball anyway and when his palm got brighter he lurched his arm forward. There it was. A fireball crashed into the creature’s chest, charring where it landed, and the stench of burnt flesh assaulted his nose.

The woman disappeared in that honeycomb light again. Rakshasa she called it. Have pity, but destroy it. 

A mercy kill, then. Khun could understand that. If he was turned into a beast like that, he would want to be destroyed, too. 

He didn’t know what it would take to kill it, so he used the chance he was being given to summon lightning. Static electricity danced across his fingertips and he focused on making it radiate until it consumed his whole hand as the heat did, a glowing crackling ball nestled in his palm by the time he was done. Shooting that forward it arked over the Rakshasa and fizzled out. So he switched to the fire again, tossing the heat from the opposite hand. 

Back and forth, fire and lightning, until he felt the way sweat was beading at his temples. Overheating was a danger and the Rakshasa wasn’t dead yet. A deep breath. Remember the chill of winter days, how it would feel crisp in his lungs and freeze his throat. How mint gum would almost feel like it burned his mouth when taking a sip of water. The ache of ice cubes on his teeth. Snow chilling his spine and turning his hands numb. 

Glancing at his right hand he saw ice had coated it from the elbow down and he swung his arm up into the air. Ice could be an attack, too, right? Cooling him while it did damage to his enemies?

A ripple of frost coated the ground below his feet. An area of effect power. Instant relief and the sweat he’d been feeling was cooled, too, feeling refreshing. Ice coated the Rakshasa’s skin and he switched back to the lightning, tossing one last ball of it.

The poor creature dropped its head and went completely limp, dissolving and disappearing. 

The woman in white was back. _“The world shakes. The dead rise. You will be tested.”_

With a groan, the fourth gate blew open and let him through. Stone walls lined the perimeter and hid the tombstones here, with two mausoleums in the back at the end of the gravel path. Walking forward, on alert for the burst of zombies, he heard the echoing voices again.

_You are cursed with free will._

**_You are cursed with free will_ ** _._

This time they said the same thing and wasn’t that disturbing, to have the voices actually agree on something? Free will was a concept that had been around since the dawn of time. Honestly, it didn’t surprise him at all that they thought it was a curse. A lot of people did.

A raven was perched on one of the taller tombstones and cawed. With it, the world around him in this dream turned hazy and chilling grey-blue. As he walked closer to the mausoleums, it dissipated but the zombies rose from their graves around him.

An idea occurred to Khun as he jumped around the three that barreled toward him, and he summoned the static tingle feeling. Jogging a few feet away he spun on his heel and shot an ark of electricity at them, and sapphire orbs lit up in excitement as he watched it bounce between all three. Yes! He did it a couple more times and the fourth ark of lightning was red which intrigued him. _‘The more you use heat the more powerful the attacks’_ and Khun felt the warmth overtaking his body, but with a frosted breath that billowed around him, he raised his hand to the air, freezing the air and the ground in a shock.

A smirk crossed his face as the zombies fell into a heap at his feet.

Only for another set of three to rise up. 

Well, the woman had said he would be tested, so giddy with a newfound technique, he ended up using just his lightning to handle the multitude that came after him. A total of nine zombies were defeated before something else happened.

Another caw of the raven and a much, much bigger zombie appeared causing Khun to real back as it moved that much faster, too. “Shit!” he cursed as he avoided a swipe of it, dodging and rolling. It didn’t look like a civilian zombie. Judging by the clothes, it looked like…maybe a Gravekeeper?

Rounding on the big guy, he focused on the flames. There had to be more to his basic fire attack as well. 

Heat in both hands, he summoned two fireballs, hurtling them at the Gravekeeper, and rolled to avoid an attempt to bite his shoulder. Once he was on his feet, he noticed the warmth in his hands hadn’t left, so he placed both of them together, heels of his palms touching, and the next attack was a burst of fire, swirling and hitting the zombie in the back. It was tougher than the regular ones, so he wasn’t surprised it didn’t topple to the ground, but he brought an ice area of effect into play and then rolled further away, shooting his lightning in the same way. One, two, together.

Finally, it keeled over onto its back and from the zombie’s pocket, a long metal stick fell out. There was a spot on one end that was cut in and shaved down to be smaller. Picking it up, his brows pinched. Was it a handle?

A third crow of the raven and there was a swirl of smoke on top of the farthest mausoleum.

Yet as Khun tensed, the creature that appeared only peered down at him from its perch. White caught his attention and he glanced over, seeing the woman by the second mausoleum. “What do you want now?” He was feeling tired, but he expected things weren’t over for him yet. Walking over to her he watched as she simply glanced at a spot in the wall. An opening. Oh…wait, was this stick a lever? That made sense he supposed, so he put it in the slot and it clicked into place.

_“Revenants do not follow the call. They follow death. You cannot leave this place while it lives. Be agile, be confident. Your life depends on it.”_

Then she was gone and Khun slipped his blade from his belt as he saw the creature on top of the other building poof in dark smoke before appearing by the doors of the other building. Its mask was similar to that of a plague doctor and it was covered in a dark cloak with wrappings around its feet and legs. A Revenant? A small gulp. Revenants were dark creatures he’d only crossed in the stories he read. Agents of death. Evil spirits. Why was it after him? What was wrong with this cemetery? Or was it all a setup and part of the test so he could prove himself?

Whatever the case, it raised its nasty-looking blades, black as the robes it wore with hooked tips, and sent a swarm of crows towards him he barely managed to leap out of the way of. Raising his hand, he sent a shock ball at it and managed to do that and send a fireball before it curled in on itself and the smoke billowed up and around the creature.

It popped up beside him, the cloud a little red and he felt the anger radiating from it. Crouching, he lept towards it at the same time it came at him. Thankfully he was smaller than it and dodged a swing of the swords while he slashed his own white blade across its torso and rolled around behind it. A fireball directly to the back, Khun ran out of the way and managed to cut it on the arm before it could bring the hooked blade down, knocking it off balance. 

The little zombies were weak. The Gravekeeper had been a bit more of a bother. Yet this dark creature was annoying in the fact it poofed out of existence to try and take him off guard by flanking him and getting the drop on him. It was a song and dance they ended up doing for at least a couple minutes until the Revenant finally fell back into its smoke and didn’t come back.

Heaving, chest rising and falling rapidly and sweat on his brow, Khun had to stop a second and wipe it away while he slid his sword back into his belt. Something gleamed where the Revenant fell, and he walked over, picking it up. 

A jade carving in the form of a dragon head.

Khun gasped as his vision flashed and the dragon seemed to roar at him in a spirit form, green and looming.

_We’re watching you._ Was the whisper in his head, only it wasn’t the woman’s or the man’s. It had an inhuman rumble to it that made a shiver crawl up his back.

Khun was so, so done with this dream, and hoped the mausoleum he had put the lever to would be the end of it. Closing his eyes and calming his racing heart, he finally walked back to it and as the raven cawed behind him, he tugged the lever down and watched as the stone door scraped against itself and lowered until he could go through it. 

Inside it was dark, and he didn’t see the drop. 

Free falling, suddenly nothing beneath his feet, darkness surrounded him before he could even yelp.

* * *

_**~The Crypt Dream~** _

When the blackness faded, Khun was already standing as if he hadn’t fallen at all and simply walked into another room. Blinking rapidly, eyes adjusting, he noticed the area around him was dimly lit, a single torch at the other end of the hall the only light source. 

These stone walls that surrounded him weren’t grey and lifeless, however. He wasn’t good with rocks, so it could be sandstone for all he knew, but they were yellow-beige in color. Symbols were etched along the top and he recognized them even if he couldn't read them. Hieroglyphics. Egyptian. 

Had the dream transported him to Egypt? Was he beneath a goddamn pyramid?

Walking forward, he tensed as he saw the woman in white hidden in the dark corner beside what he assumed were doors into his next testing grounds. “What is it this time?” he demanded, “What am I doing?”

_“Fighting eternal darkness is a fool’s errand. Wisdom is the light that drives the darkness away.”_

Okay? Sure, wisdom. He was an intelligent person and it’d kept him alive all these years. It helped him learn his powers in the cemetery at a rate he was sure most wouldn’t grasp so easily. Light. He glanced at the torch on the wall.

_“The torch, child.”_ She said as though she was confirming what he was thinking. _“We speak in metaphors because alien minds cannot decipher them. Your path will be equally puzzling - wisdom must be your torch.”_

Dear fucking god, he hoped aliens weren’t actually involved and that in itself was a metaphor for foreign or strange. It was bad enough he had woken up and exploded his water glass and nearly set his flat on fire.

Grunting in understanding, he took the torch off the wall and held it high, illuminating the doors that had two Egyptians facing each other, holding goblets with a lot more hieroglyphics. Pressing on it, nothing happened. Furrowing his brows, he moved the torch and looked around. There seemed to be a plaque on the wall that had what looked like a person sitting cross-legged carved in. Placing his hand on it, he pushed it and it slid in with a scrape. 

The doors swung open. 

Walking through, there was a much longer hall in front of him. Pressure plates lined the floor, rows, and rows of them, all with different symbols. There were standing golden basins with twisting bottoms on either side of him, and he saw the same cross-legged symbol on the walls. 

Puzzles.

His next fucking test had to deal with puzzles and _traps_. Khun actively groaned out loud, letting the sound echo around him. “Of course. What am I, in some adventure movie?”

Grumbling, that silly part of him that liked intrigue and challenges was perking up. He felt like being happy about this in any regard meant the stupid Dream Architect was winning, so he kept his face schooled and walked closer to the pressure plates, hovering the torch over them. When he found the cross-legged one that matched, he stepped on it.

It sunk in and he waited but breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened. 

There was another of the same symbol in front of this one, so he walked onto it. It sank in, too, and the silence was his confirmation. Good. So this was the right way. One to his left. Up two. Right three. Up two. Done.

Khun _coughed_ because he’d been holding in his breath the whole time. He was safe, that part was over. His hand went over his chest for a second before he shook his arms and upper body of the tension. Moving on. 

Going down the hall to the end there was a left turn. Fingers twitched to look in the stone box against the wall and see if anything was inside, but he ignored it and walked by. Down an incline and through another long hallway. Keeping his footsteps light and eyes peeled for anything else. 

A haze similar to what happened back in the cemetery, turning his world dusty purple and making him dizzy.

_You are with the Chosen, but you must choose for yourself._

**_You are with the Chosen, but you must make the right choices_ ** _._

Yeah, that was the thing with ‘free will’ wasn’t it? Your choice, hoping and praying half the time it was the ‘right one’. Sometimes, not even caring if it was right or wrong. Like himself. He often lived his life how he pleased, fuck the status quo and fuck what expectations people had of him. It didn’t mean he was heartless, but it was rare he did things for other people.

These hallways didn’t seem to end, but eventually, he reached a new puzzle and came to a halt. Way up high at the end of this corridor above the double stone doors were three plaques. First, three lines and what looked like a tilted seven. The cross-legged person for the second. Lastly was a severely curved symbol and Khun was reminded of a sickle-blade. 

Down closer to his level, he saw plaques nestled in their own little stone thrones against either side of the wall, usually two facing each other, with different symbols on them. Clicking his tongue, Khun walked by and ignored the first two. Three strikes with a tilted seven…ah. It was with the second set of stone thrones. Pressing it in, it stayed in place and he nodded, turning around and going back to the first set. The cross-legged one was here. Once that was in place he went and looked for the sickle. Naturally, it was with the last set closest to the doors.

“Got it!” He cheered triumphantly to himself with a grin as the doors slid open, only to scowl in annoyance for slipping. His face contorted even further as he walked past the doors and held his torch high, a glint on the ground catching his attention. Eyes widening in horror he paused as streaks of blood on the floor became more obvious. It twisted at the start as if someone had picked up a body and turned it around. 

Stepping to the side of the drag tracks, he followed the trail further down another hallway. More broken stone littered the floor from the passage of time. At the end of the corridor below an archway, another wave of dizziness and the purple haze appeared. 

_This is merely a dream._

**_Even if this is merely a dream._ **

He was getting _real_ sick of that.

A sarcophagus sat propped against the left wall, and at the end of this corridor was a round pit.

He couldn’t see the bottom.

Pursing his lips, he didn’t see any other way forward, so he followed the dream aspect of this whole mess.

He dropped down.

* * *

_**~Facility Dream~** _

Gone was the torch from his hand and a rounded grate clunked and clacked beneath his shoes.

The warm yellow stone was gone, too. Now the walls were a beige-grey, and the halls in front of him were curved. The vibe of this place reminded him of a castle, honestly. As he walked, not hesitating this time, he noticed the walls had shelving built into the stone.

The woman in white was at the end by the doors, in the same corner she had been in the Egyptian crypt. The dream was full of repeats, but he supposed that was how dreams were.

_“They are the cats prowling at the walls of reality. You are the mouse. It is best to remain unseen.”_

The doors here weren’t made of wood or stone, but metal, and also had engravings of people facing each other. Khun’s thumb ran over the silver handle of his blade to reassure himself it was there as they opened. Remain unseen. So he was going to be sneaking around?

_“A clever mouse creeps carefully, to avoid stepping on a trap.”_

Khun’s teeth chattered at a sudden blast of tundra snow.

“Fuck!” he muttered to himself, curling in and nearly stepping back. All of a sudden the blue trench coat he was wearing didn’t feel like enough, but after glancing around at the rocks and seeing a wire fencing as a perimeter for wherever he was, he snapped his mouth shut. Quiet. Sneaking. Goddamn it.

There was a tunnel to his right so he quickly moved down the stairs from the fortress he’d been in and bolted for it, not even using the pathway, crunching across the snow. 

The haze was back and it was blue again, brighter this time. Taken off guard, he caught his hand on the arch of the tunnel.

_It is not my place to intervene. But then…_

**_We are here to guide you to the light._ **

Creeping, trying to avoid the floodlight, he got into the dark depths of the tunnel system and breathed deep. It wasn’t the Dream Architect’s place to intervene, but she’d been guiding him where it was necessary through the whole process. She was trying her best to make sure he succeeded.

Why? It was hard to believe he was special in any way. He was simply another bastard Khun child who broke the mold.

There were stairs that led down so he followed them, only to tense and feel his stomach twist in fear.

_Landmines_. 

There were _so many_ and they were _everywhere_ , with only a small pathway in the middle of the mass. At the end there were laser traps, too, glowing red and angry. Oh God. He didn’t believe in such a thing, but suddenly he was praying. Fuck, shit, and all sorts of profanities filtered in his head. He couldn’t get too close or he’d set this whole place crashing down and blowing himself to bits in the process.

_‘Only a dream my ass.’_ Khun hissed mentally as he moved through the trap, one step at a time. No holding his breath here. Steady. There was a break at the end before the lasers, where he could get up on the sides and go around the corner.

Where one that ran parallel to the ground sat. Clever. Leave a false sense of security with how the other lasers are spread only to trip over this one. Scoffing, Khun stepped back as far as he was able and did a running jump. Landing safely on the other side. 

Puffing out another breath, he got to the already open doors. The water here covered the ground as if it was flooded. There were bodies here, at least three. More than likely electrocuted to death due to the cables going into the water from the console up on the side edge. 

This was too easy for him. Smirking, he let his fingertips fill with static and stepped over to the control console. With a simple touch, sparks bounced around between the controls, and suddenly it was smoking, and the electricity in the water disappeared. 

Getting up to the nest set of metal doors with red and white stripes down the middle, the woman in white was waiting.

_“Where the cat walks, the clever mouse will walk unseen. A mouse cannot defeat a cat, face to face.”_

A flash and the yellow-orange floating honeycomb blinked at him before the doors opened.

The water here wasn’t electric, but there was a massive metal golem stomping and clanking about. Khun stared in disbelief, but could he really say he was _surprised_ at this point? A red cone in front of it was its line of sight. Avoiding that _seemed_ easy enough, but it turned its head a lot and it moved surprisingly fast, its hulking form able to take longer strides. His saving grace was that it didn’t seem to notice the doors were open.

Waiting until it squeaked its way in a different direction, Khun used his speed to bolt inside the new room. There were bodies here, too and he had to leap over one. Get to the other door, get to the other door!

A control console here, too. Reaching his hand out, Khun sent this one sparking like the other one and the opposite happened. It sent a shockwave through the water and the golem was caught in it, convulsing and jerking before it shut down, slumped in an odd position.

It seemed to take all the juice, too, since the water wasn’t electrified once it was over. Khun’s curiosity made him creep over to it and he poked it with his sword, but nothing. There were numbers on its chest and he squinted.

**3-6-9-1**

Huh. shrugging, he turned around and noticed the doors weren’t open. Did this one have a passcode? 

A soft laugh left him. The numbers on the golem might work. Funny how it worked out like that. Stepping back to the door, he saw the keypad on the side opposite the console on the wall and he flicked the cover open. Deciding to hell with it, he punched the numbers in.

Of course, the security doors popped.

The woman in white was waiting, as she usually was, but before he could reach her he stumbled. The dream itself seemed to have a static effect, much different than the blue haze he was used to and there was a ringing in his ears. 

Another green jade dragon on the ground and this time he was prepared for it to rear its head at him. 

_We’re checking your progress. We’re waiting_. Growled the dragon’s voice.

The woman gave him a knowing glance. _“Talismans can protect you, strengthen you and focus you. But they cannot save you. Nothing can save you. But the choice will set you free, one way or another.”_

Sunlight streaming through the last door made Khun wince and cover his eyes, but he walked out quickly, glancing around. Broken buildings and the roads cracked and caved in, concrete in piles scattered around. It looked like a war zone and he practically jumped down the steps to get to the small crowd of seven people.

“Hurry. We have no time to spare.” An older dark-skinned man spoke, catching Khun’s attention.

“Shouldn’t we consult the Council of Venice first?” Said another with an odd accent, scratching the back of his neck.

“Now is not the time for argument!”

A monstrous screeching in the distance and the ground itself shook, making Khun hold his arms out to balance himself.

“What was that?!” a blond-haired British girl gasped.

“Something’s coming out of the ground!” a girl in a red crop top shouted.

“Go! Go now!” called the man with the trench coat.

A monster of nightmares with black and red flesh, nearly as large as one of the multi-story buildings loomed ahead of them. A split-mouth opened to scream at them, tentacles whipping around from its back and sides, knocking into more buildings. Coming from the ground itself, it might as well be emerging from hell itself.

Khun didn’t want to go anywhere near it, but everyone else was running towards it. Was he supposed to fight that thing?! As they got closer, too, slimy black _things_ were wriggling out of the cement of what used to be a walkway.

“Don’t hold anything back!” Called the girl in red beside him as he saw someone tossing a wave of fire energy at it. All seven of the people around him were tossing abilities and he heard gunshots as well.

He tried, hurtling fire and lightning, but as went to create a frost ring around himself he got knocked in the chest by one of the tentacles. He was sent flying, landing on his back on the ground and his head knocked on the pavement. 

Blackness consumed him.

_And be mindful of the voices. They corrupt._

**_And be mindful of the voices that whisper, for they speak the truth._ **

* * *

Khun gasped as his eyes snapped open, a full-body shudder rushing through his very being.

He was back in his apartment, and as he glanced around, it was still a wreck.

Thunking his head back onto the floor, he puffed a sigh. He was really going to have to clean.

* * *

**_Two Days Ago_ **

The blue orb he had managed to form into existence bounced between his palms as if it were a hacky sack or an actual ball. 

Khun had tried to clean, he really did, but just because he had been able to control his powers in the dream hadn’t meant it had been so easy in the waking world. Yet it had given him the drive and determination to get a handle on it. Now, here he was, apartment flat still in disarray, but he had figured himself out and was no longer afraid of using his glassware and favorite mugs. 

Tossing the orb into his other hand one last time, he smiled in contentment and ease as he closed his eyes and let it absorb back into his body. Only for it to roll through him in a pretty blue glow and come out in his other hand which he had lifted into the air.

Closing his fist, it dissipated and he nodded to himself, proud of the progress he’d been able to make in only two days.

* * *

**_Yesterday_ **

A knock at his door. The first one in a week. 

Was it finally the police? Come to see if he was dead since he hadn’t left the house or gone to work? His phone had been destroyed in the chaos but he’d been too terrified to go out and buy a new one, and after the dream, he’d grabbed his laptop and sent a pointed email to Hachuling and Ran that he did _not_ want them to come to his place under any circumstances. Whatever had happened to him, he didn’t want either of them to get hurt, too.

He had been in the middle of cleaning since training himself exhausted his body and made him want to sleep. No other dreams had plagued him, but considering he usually had insomnia, he liked to think he was sleeping too deep for those dreams to get him.

Picking up another chair and righting a lamp on his way to the door, he slowed until he could peek through the hole. All he saw was a head of blond. Furrowing his brows and frowning, he unlocked and pulled open the door.

“Good afternoon,” they said, “are you-” they cut themselves off, striding in and past him as if they owned the place. “-by the look of things, I guess that question is moot.”

Khun scowled at the rudeness, taking in who this person was or could be. Blond hair in a tight bun with a red butterfly hair stick keeping it in place, decked in olive-green robes that looked like they were made of silk and had gold trim. Rich. High and mighty and shorter than him. “Who are you?” he demanded. 

“Bee problem?” The other mused, taking a few more steps, sipping from the foam coffee container in one hand, and circled back around. They were completely ignoring him, “There’s a lot of that going around.” 

“What the hell are you on about?” Khun crossed his arms. Bee problem? “Why are you _here_?”

Finally, the person stopped and turned to face Khun, lemon yellow eyes seeming to glow in the dimly lit room -dim since the floor lamp he used had broken, like everything else- “I represent an organization located here in Korea, far from here. A very _large_ organization with-” a bored sigh and a dismissive wave of their hand covered in their silky sleeve, “-branches across the globe and connections in every government. Although we see ourselves as a, ah, _silent_ partner.” A wicked little smile that made Khun’s skin crawl and a casual sip of their coffee.

Walking closer the blond tipped their head up, going a bit more serious as they stared Khun down, “Dark days are coming. The world is in turmoil and we’re recruiting. Soldiers, agents, adventurers.” They pulled away, pacing around again, giving pause as Khun absorbed what they were saying, then tipped their head to look at him, “We offer good terms. A fresh start. A network unlike any other. Unlimited resources, a _fantastic_ medical plan, and,” he met yellow to blue with intensity, “...a way to harness and use your incredible powers.”

Khun felt as though he had been caught, hook line and sinker. This person _knew_. He gulped and tracked his eyes over the outfit again. The jade dragon talisman from the dream.

“It may be a big transition, but look at it this way,” the person coaxed, voice soothing now as they came closer once more, “This is a unique opportunity. _You_ have been chosen. You have been granted powers _beyond_ what most can imagine.” Another dismissive wave, “So you can either be an outcast in a world that will never understand or accept what you’ve become, _or_ ,” a sip of their coffee, watching the blue-haired young man closely, “...you can join _others like you_.” They waved that hand towards the window as sirens went by, “Take a stand against the rising darkness and embark on a journey into the unknown. Into the hidden places.” 

Glowing yellow eyes pinned Khun, and a shiver zipped down his spine. “Into the Secret World.”

“What do you want from me?” Khun whispered, voice small and his breathing was shaky. There was nothing here for him. His brothers would be fine without him. His apartment was in shambles but it was all just _things_. He didn’t care about any of it. 

“The choice, as we’re so fond of saying, is yours.” The stranger assured, “But know this. Your emerging powers _will_ attract plenty of attention, and not everyone is as… _accommodating_ as we are. On your own, you will be easy prey. You might not last a week.” Pulling an envelope from his robes, Khun saw it came complete with a green wax seal that had the same dragon symbol he remembered. The stranger gave it to him. “This will get you where you need to go. There are instructions inside. Use it, or don’t use it, it’s your prerogative.” Yet Khun knew it really wasn’t and he watched them head to the door, opening it, “You won’t see me again. I trust you’ll make the right decision.” 

Pausing in the hallway, they gave him one last glance, “By the way…our organization is called the Dragon. We’ve been around a while. Good day.” With another knowing smirk, they left him with his thoughts spinning in circles and stomach twisting. 

Staring at the envelope, Khun knew whatever he packed would have to be light and only what he needed. All he’d have would be the clothes on his back.

Time to give his flat to Hachuling to do with what he wanted. Maybe he and Ran could live here instead.


	2. Dragon of Seoul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally at his destination, Khun goes on an adventure through Seoul, South Korea and learns a lot more than he ever wanted to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no "park" in the Seoul run-through. I took some creative liberties and mixed the Templar intro with the Dragon one bc the Dragon is uncomfortable to watch.

  * Watch [**this video**](https://youtu.be/bLCdoQSvW6E) for the Subway vision
  * Can watch **[this video](https://youtu.be/4UDrx28-WL8)** from the vision onward [this chap covers all the way until **11:20** , _for no spoilers, stop watching after the AGARTHA load screen appears_ ]



* * *

**x Seoul, South Korea x**

A couple days later, the bus he’d taken landed at his destination. Sleeping on a bus was certainly not ideal, but his insomnia had kicked in and he hadn’t slept much at all, actually. 

Stepping out of the station and into the main streets of Seoul, the sound of flapping wings caught his attention. Gentle, unlike the ravens that had been in that dream. Staring down the alley, Khun noticed a gathering of butterflies hovering in place, almost as if they were beckoning him to follow.

Definitely not a dream this time. Not with how his head pounded and body ached. Inhaling deeply, Khun began to follow the butterflies. Winding through the city streets they eventually brought him to a tall building.  _ Kumino Hotel  _ screamed the neon red letters. Why would they bring him here?

Walking inside the music of the place filtered into his ears. A much older man by the stage in the lobby was watching him before he went back to whatever he was doing, a cigarette tucked in between his lips. Narrowing his eyes, wondering if this man knew anything, Khun approached the stranger, meeting his gaze then he motioned with his hand for him to have a seat. The stranger had been expecting him, clearly.

Sitting down on the couch, Khun could hear the man on the couches mumbling to himself. “Where is it? Where is it… It’s in here somewhere, I’ve seen it, I’ve…” 

Khun spoke up, exasperated. “What are you looking for?” he inquired, taking a seat and watching the man with his papers.

“Are you… Are you familiar with the butterfly effect, hm?” He asked suddenly, which caught the young man off guard and he raised his eyebrows. That was oddly specific and especially ironic considering it was  _ butterflies _ that led him here. “It asserts that just a tiny change in initial conditions can dramatically change the long-term behavior of a system. Like, um… Like a butterfly’s wings affecting the weather system; turning a light breeze into…” He paused, meeting his gaze as he removed the cigarette from his lips. “...into a tsunami.”

He nodded once silently to show that he was listening while the man continued to talk. “Most people take this to mean there’s no way to predict or find patterns in a system so easily affected by tiny, random seemingly insignificant events. But...but! Chaos  _ theory _ is not about chaos. It’s about  _ order _ . It’s about finding the underlying order in apparently random data. Mm?” He took a breath after he stopped speaking briefly, only to continue soon after. “In chaos… In other words, um… Chaos isn’t, uh… Chaos  _ isn’t _ . There’s always order.  _ Always _ . That order is what the Dragon chases relentlessly.”

That actually made sense. Predictability. Logic. Khun could work with logic.

“What they’re doing is  _ experimentation _ . They are  _ testing  _ the systems. They’re breeding butterflies so that they can discern the patterns. The more random data they introduce to the system, the more data they get back. They’re creating a model of the universe, one tsunami at a time.” He took a long drag of his cigarette that rested between his fingers, exhaling the toxic smoke into the air that nearly made Khun cough. “But this… This is a  _ controlled  _ experiment. So, the Dragon ensures that with every tiny random change, they remain in complete control. They are ruthless planners, and what they’re doing; what they’re planning is acts of…”

He paused for a moment, trying to think of the right word to describe them. “In a way, they are terrorists.”  _ What the actual fuck? _ “Except, their acts of terror are  _ small _ . Seemly without consequence; they don’t blow up buildings or planes, they don’t murder the innocent. They don’t have a doctrine. What they are doing is a lot more  _ subtle _ , a lot more, uh, effective.” He eased his hand and Khun wasn’t relaxed or relieved, but he sat back against the couch, gaze wary.

“They now have enough data in their models now to predict casualty. At least, to some degree. They put you somewhere they have a good idea of what’s going to happen. That’s what it’s all about; why you’ve been brought here, to Seoul.” Khun narrowed his eyes. The man  _ knew  _ something. “I’m sure you’re asking yourself,  _ ‘Why me?’ _ Hm?  _ ‘Why now?’ _ It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters now is that you’ve been brought here because they  _ want  _ you here. They  _ need  _ you here.”

His brows knitted together, becoming even more confused. The man continued to speak, on a roll. “Everything from the moment they visited you until this conversation, it may seem like a series of  _ coincidences _ , random events.” It was almost as if he could read his mind, and the man chuckled. “Carefully planned… Part of a model they designed, part of a system. It’s an experiment, don’t you see?  _ Everything  _ has a purpose.  _ Everything  _ is true.” He took another drag of his cigarette, looking ahead and no longer at him. “Sooner or later, they  _ all  _ go to the park.”

Khun followed his gaze back outside. Indeed, a park was across from the hotel. Which offered a nice view for customers. Humming, figuring that was his next destination, he stood and nodded to the man politely, headed back outside, straightening the strap of his bag on his shoulder. 

Once there, he spotted someone in a dragon costume much like a mascot at a game show would be dressed. They were dancing on a podium and Khun drew closer, watching how they undulated their body and spun, the person’s mask bobbing and swaying. 

Hypnotized, Khun didn’t realize he was swaying in place, his eyes growing heavy. Already sleep-deprived, it took no time at all for him to blackout and hit the ground with a heavy  _ thud _ .

* * *

**x The Subway Vision x**

“It’s all shut down, Kaidan-cho, everything, from the park to Orochi Tower…” A female voice filtered through the haze of his mind. It had an interesting lilt to it. Oriental?

“SDF quarantine. Good news for Tokyo, bad news for us.” Another female, her voice sounded almost...British?

“I thought the Dragon thrived on chaos?” A male voice, colored with a sassy drawl. Khun couldn’t quite place it.

“Someone once told me the Illuminati had all the answers.”

“They’re saying a bomb, it’s never just a bomb.”

“Something worse, something that brought the Filth with it.”

“So we fight. That’s what us Templars do.”

“I enjoy a good fight, it’s just these trousers are bloody velvet.” The man was the last to speak and wow, how pompous could a person be to wear velvet trousers?

Ugh. His head hurt and his body ached. A terrible, rotten stench invaded his nose and as his eyes peeled open he felt his stomach roll. Black. Inky black, creeping vines along the corner of the wall. There were even tendrils of it running by his feet where he was laying. That was  _ not _ a pleasant sight to wake up to. Rubbing his head and sitting up, he was quick to get to his feet and away from whatever it was.

“Sarah! Thank Gaia!” The first voice called, and it took a moment to shake off the groggy feeling since that clearly wasn’t his name. He wanted to ask who Sarah was, but it didn’t seem to matter. They had been talking about something in particular when they’d noticed him stirring. Why was it so familiar…wait, the radio report. The attack on Tokyo. Was that where he was right now? This must be another vision of some sort, that was the only explanation. 

Now he thought about it, he recalled the last scene from what the Dream Architect was trying to show him. These voices all sounded familiar, from the rush on that giant eldritch monster.

“Are you okay?” the same girl in a red crop top and cargo pants asked, “How are you feeling?” There was a rumble and the whole station seemed to shake. 

It was odd. None of the others seemed to be bothered by it. They continued to stand there like nothing was wrong as if it was another Tuesday. Khun had to stare at them and wonder who the fuck these people even were.

“If Zuberi was here, he’d tell us this is the worst time to argue.” Grumbled the Oriental woman. That sounded familiar, too. He even recalled the shout before the big attack.

“Well, he’s not. He’s down there somewhere. Sarah, get your sword.” Huh, so the British one was blond.

Looking down at his feet, there was a blue bag he figured belonged to “Sarah”. Reaching inside, he took out the blade which he placed on his hip, attaching it to his belt. He felt a pulse of energy flow through him once he equipped it, his skills he remembered from the Graveyard coming back to him.

Once he was geared up, someone ran against the metal gate that closed them off from a different part of the subway. They were screaming unintelligibly, rattling the metal, and the only thing Khun could make out was they begged them to open the gate.

“I’m trying! It’s inside the electrics somehow, the Filth…”

What the ever-loving fuck was ‘the Filth’? Khun eyed the slimy black vines to his left, scowling and his body subconsciously leaned away from it. Suddenly from the other side, Khun’s eyes widened as some _ thing _ jumped the woman behind the gate, feral and ripping its claws through her flesh. 

He jumped and the girl in red held her arm up to protect herself from the splatter of blood. “No!” she cried, stricken.

“Fuck me,” the fancy man in a trench coat winced.

“Oh. My God.” British girl gaped.

Rattling in the vents caught Khun’s attention and he wasn’t the only one to draw his weapon, whipping around towards the sound. Another creature came from one of two holes in the wall, jumping out and going right for the oriental woman. 

“Watch out!” called the man behind him as blackened hands went to swipe at the girl.

The four of them jumped around and fought the creatures coming out. The British girl had a shotgun and the noise from it rang in his ears along with the twang of the other woman’s katana. The one in his hands wasn’t anything special, not like the white blade with the silver handle. This one was only a short sword, but he did his best to swipe at the monster coming after him, catching it across the throat when it lunged. 

After taking care of the two that got out, a chilling screeching sound that made goosebumps pop up on Khun’s arms echoed from the vents. “How many have they got in there?” the man hissed.

Yeah, that’s what he’d like to know. Wait. You know what? He actually didn’t want to know. He wanted to get out of there. Fuck this.

“It’s gone viral so fast…if this gets out into Tokyo…” The blond seemed to actually care. He supposed he’d give her that one. There were a ton of people in Tokyo and he had no idea what the hell this virus was. Were they even immune? What the hell were they doing down here?

“It doesn’t. We stop it here. Whatever it takes.”

_ ‘Excuse me?’  _ Khun hissed, but he noticed he couldn’t really talk during this vision quest or whatever was going on. He had to play the role he was given. Still, that didn’t mean he had to like it.

There ended up being about five more creatures and they all seemed to manage somehow, though he did cry out when he got swiped across the back. Whipping around he stabbed the thing in the stomach, shoving it against the pillar in front of the terminals. Rolling, he barely missed another one, but there was a blast and it went down, too. Thankfully it didn’t take very long to take care of them and the girl in red finally managed to open the gate.

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

Gee thanks for the cryptic depressing quote. Khun wanted to stab him, too.

“Thanks for the encouragement, Alex.” British girl quipped as the girl in red lifted the gate.

Wow yay for the British girl speaking his mind for him. He maybe liked her a little more now. At least he had a name, too, for the trench-coat man.

“Let’s do this!” the Oriental girl sounded optimistic. He supposed someone had to be. “Take it like all the other occult disasters, right?!”

_ ‘Wait. What? All  _ **_other_ ** _ occult disasters?’ _ Khun didn’t like the sound of that. What kind of bullshit was he getting himself wrapped into? This was supposed to just be a dream, right?

… _ Right _ ?

Down the hall and some stairs, an entire  _ hoard _ was waiting for them, and was that…? Black smoke of some kind? It was spawning more of the creatures and there was a tremble through Khun’s body. It creeped him the hell out, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to fight along with them or be left behind.

“Don’t let it get on you! Don’t even breathe it in!” 

Was the girl in red talking about the smoke? 

“It’s reacting to us…like it knows we’re coming.” The British girl spoke up this time between gunfire.

Alex scoffed, tossing a fireball at a creature’s back, “This stuff can’t think. It’s a cancer. Cancer doesn’t know you’re coming, it just is.”

All of them bolted down the hallway and fought down more stairs until they came across another gate. “New plan. Fight chaos with chaos. Keep the bastards at a distance, then take them out.” Alex huffed as he ran up to it, sucking in air and trying to catch his breath. 

Girl in red put her hand on her hip, “ _ That’s _ your plan?”

Alex grunted at her, put out, “Well, it’s  _ a _ plan.”

The blond British girl rounded on Khun, “You’ve got point, Sarah. Make every shot count.”

The gate opens and they all rush into the main train hub. There was a smokey portal and a horde rushed out to meet them. Inky smoke came hurtling towards him and Khun’s eyes went huge.  _ Shitshitshitshit _ ! He ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding it and it burst soundlessly into the wall behind him. The Oriental girl had said not to breathe it in, so he had to do everything he could to avoid it while also fighting all these monsters.

One of them got his arm before the wave was finished, and they all gathered at the other end of the platform, heaving and sweat dripping down their temples. It all felt so real and Khun couldn’t help but feel real fear squeezing at his chest. If he had his ice he would cool himself down, but it looked like he was stuck with just ‘Sarah’s’ blade.

“We’re gunna need to use some heavier powers. Don’t hold back, right?” huffed the girl in red.

Alex coughed a few times and grumbled, “I was pacing myself.”

“Listen, Sarah. You have to find Zuberi. We’ll hold them from here. Make a stand.” The blond encouraged. Okay, fine, he could look for their comrade. That shouldn’t be too hard.

“I could murder for a strawberry smoothie…” someone bemoaned when they all ran back towards the main part of the platform and Khun had to agree with the statement. A sweet treat would certainly improve his mood.

Unfortunately, as he got closer to the grate fencing, the biggest Mass of the Filth he had ever seen came stomping out of a black cloud and Khun had no idea how he was supposed to fight this thing with a  _ toothpick _ of a blade but he didn’t exactly have a choice, now did he? The metal clanged off it in places and he had to adapt and reassess before moving in again. Don’t get it on you. Don’t breathe it in. That was really hard when he had to get up and close and personal with the beast. 

After some time and effort, dodging it’s rampaging and getting hit in the chest at least once which sent him skidding into the ground, Khun sank his blade into its center. It collapsed to the ground when he pulled away, bursting into black goo and splashing at his feet. Disgusting. Pulling a face, he stepped around it and was thankful when nothing else jumped out as he tried to get past the fencing. 

That was when something glowing yellow-orange caught his attention to his left. It was a floating…box? Squinting at it, feeling as if it was severely out of place, Khun inched closer towards it, feeling a pull. Buzzing filled his ears as he did.

He tapped it with his sword and jumped as big letters flashed on it as if it were a screen.

**_The Filth_ ** **.** _ Our wisdom flows so sweet. Taste and see… _

Another flash. 

**_TRANSMIT_ ** _ \- initiate cephalopod signal -  _ **_RECEIVE_ ** _ \- innate cutle-ink frequency -  _

**_HANDLE WITH CARE_ ** _ \- inhale the Chernobyl syntax -  _ **_AVOID CONTACT WITH SKIN_ ** _ \- initiate the eel mucous lexicon -  _ **_HARMFUL OR FATAL IF SWALLOWED_ ** _ \-  _

_ Flip the Ace of Ruin -  _

**_WITNESS_ ** _ \- The Filth _

Khun…stared. The box seemed to dissolve in mid-air and there was a beeping sound that was far-away, maybe outside of the dream, and he felt dizzy.

Right. He had a mission to complete. Turning back around, he finally managed to get on the train. 

A dark skin man appeared from a door on the other end. Zuberi? It had to be. He recognized him from the Dream Architect’s trials. “Ah, the cavalry has arrived.” He motioned to Khun, “Even where the Filth corrupts, Gaia’s power endures. Take it into yourself. Breathe it out. Will this broken body mended.”

What?

Zuberi gave him an expectant look and nodded down to the security officer. He seemed worse for wear and Khun had no idea what he wanted him to do about it. Heal him? 

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Khun felt a rush through his body and gasped, fingertips sparking green. Dumbfounded, he didn’t really have time to wonder what was happening and he directed the energy he was feeling coursing through him at the body crumbled on the floor of the train. 

After a swirl of green magic, the subway security officer groaned and shifted. After a short moment, he was shaking his head and getting to his feet, good as new, and Zuberi steadied the man. “Good. Good, but even Gaia will be tested by what is to come.”

The others he’d left behind rushed in. The girl in red spoke first, “Making a stand…wasn’t working out,” she wheezed.

Alex was leaning against one of the empty chairs, holding his side. Khun didn’t like his pained posture, but he didn’t feel the green healing magic anymore. “Yeah about that…this ain’t looking much better, to be honest.”

Zuberi growled, “Now is not the time for argument!” Oh yeah, he definitely said that before.

“Told you he would say that.” Thanks for that riveting content, British girl. Khun rolled his eyes.

Zuberi snapped at all of them, “We must reach the next platform!” and with that, he was opening the door he’d come in from.

They poured out of the train as the Filth creatures did the same from their portals of smoke. There had to be a dozen of them, but now they had at least two more people for manpower against the infected. Khun duck and wove around the bodies, spinning and catching his sword across multiple opponents. He even managed to lop off one of their heads as he continued to fight. 

As much as he didn’t want to be here and doing this, he could feel his body moving like it was muscle memory. As if he’d been fighting all his life. He supposed, in a way, he had been. He worked out, he trained to keep his body and mind sharp, and he knew how to throw knives and wield a small dagger. A short sword was nothing. He had done this in the Graveyard, too, but it hadn’t felt so urgent then.

Just as he was getting comfortable in his own skin, fluid water swirling around his opponents, he felt the subway station shake all over again. Whipping his head, two giant Masses came storming from their corner of hell. 

“The gate’s opening!” British girl cried out.

Girl in red didn’t sound too hot. “I think that’s bad news.” More screeching. “Yup. Bad news.”

British girl was in a panic, “They’re not stopping!”

“And they  _ will not _ stop. This is all to hold us back.” Zuberi was fierce. What was the Filth trying to hold them back from? 

“Top marks for effort,” called Alex over the din of weapons fire.

Zuberi pulled his leadership voice out, “Someone has to push through. This confusion may be all the time we have.”

“Someone…?” the Oriental woman looked at Khun. 

He got the hint, now he had to wait until he got his opening. Gritting his teeth, Khun jumped and avoided an attack from one of the smaller fry. It was hard to see around the horde, but after another minute of hacking and slashing, he heard it.

“Go! Go!” The blond snapped.

Bolting for the stairs, Khun barely managed to leap out of the way of enemies and get to the top. Another shake of the station almost had him falling to his knees.

“Look out!” British girl screamed, “It’s all coming down!”

Glancing up with wide eyes, Khun saw the ceiling break apart. Rubble collapsing down and he dodged, scraping up his hands and landing on his ass as dust billowed out from the concrete hitting the stairs. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to get back to the other side…

Yet he was never meant to, was he?

Grim and wishing the others on the other side safe passage to the other side, he gripped his sword and made his way down the next hall. He had never been in a subway station this huge before. There were more broken escalators to traverse, taking him down, down…

What Khun wasn’t expecting when he reached the bottom of the third set of stairs was to see… _ space _ . Floating nothingness and endless stars with some...asteroids? Bobbing along where the train station was  _ supposed _ to be. For the love of anything holy, was that the  _ sun _ ? It’s glow painted the station around him orange, and he slowed to a stop in the middle of the platform. This wasn’t…it couldn’t be real. 

Slowly he walked towards the edge where the stone was broken apart. 

He couldn’t…Khun felt himself flickering between the consciousness of ‘Sarah’ and his own body. His head felt like it was splitting open and he simply couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Wavering in place, his short sword clattered to the ground and he tumbled down as well.

Darkness crept up and surrounded him once again.

* * *

**x Seoul, South Korea x**

Finally waking up from the dream, Khun groaned weakly and lifted a hand to his forehead as his eyes peeled open. There was a painful throbbing in his skull, and he sat up on the edge of the bed, his racing mind still trying to make sense of what he had seen. Yet he knew there was no way he could. There were far too many questions and not nearly enough answers.

There was a movement in his peripheral and he turned to look at a woman in a red dress who was keeping an eye out the window, a frown turning down her face. He must have been picked up in the park and brought here to a room.

“You must leave now,” she spoke after a moment of silence. “They are asking for you. I’m sorry you had to see…” She turned her head to look back at Khun, an apology in her eyes before looking away again. “I’m sorry.”

Standing, there was a mountain of a man covered in tattoos he assumed was the woman’s bodyguard, and he led him to the door.

Once he was out of the room, the large tattooed man shut the door in his face and he was left in the hallway again. He’d basically taken a long-ass nap, but he felt exhausted and bone-tired. When was he going to be able to sleep? Not that he could, his insomnia would get to him with all this new information, but the thought was nice. 

Down in the lobby, Khun found the man who’d rattled on to him about the butterfly effect and chaos theory. The papers were gone and he seemed to be relaxing, and Khun didn’t care if the woman had told him ‘they’re asking for you’. They could go fuck themselves for a little bit. He really needed to sit and rest a moment, so he went to the couch he’d sat in before and watched the man tilt his head at him curiously. “I was waiting for you to come down. I’m glad you came to me instead of me having to wave you over.”

“Oh?” Khun arched a brow, “Why is that? Were you about to send me somewhere specific?”  _ ‘Like the park?’ _ he clicked his tongue.

A soft laugh, “No, no. I received a special phone for you. To send reports and receive responses back from the Dragon. It can be used to connect you to other Chosen you come across as well. A store to order special clothing with points you earn from completing missions, and all those things many Chosen have to go through. It already has everything set up, and as I went to the room to connect it to your energy, it beeped, so you must have crossed a Lightbox during your vision. Or for Chosen, a Lore. They are things only Chosen can see, so I can’t really tell you much about them. They give you clues about the world around you, such as the Filth. Helpful little things. Gifts, I think, from Gaia and Agartha.” 

So that was what the yellow glowing box was? A Lore? Khun hadn’t been able to replace the phone that had gotten broken while his powers settled into his body. He took the one he was given. “Tell me about yourself.” It felt good to just…sit, and stay for a moment. The phone could wait for him to learn it’s apps and buttons.

“Me? Oh, I…I used to be a Professor. Of history. At a prestigious university in America. The board, they, um, they let me go. I lost my tenure.” Khun couldn’t imagine why. He had been frantic earlier when looking through his papers. “They said I was mentally unstable, but I know what happened. Someone got to them, and they probably never even knew. As far as they were concerned, I was a troublemaker. That’s how the Dragon operates. Subtle terror, arranging the pieces just so, to-” but he cleared his throat, “But you know all about that. I don’t need to…At first, I thought it was all just a coincidence. The documents I found, the books I came across. The information I uncovered. Yet they  _ wanted  _ me here. So they made sure I came here. I’m a resource to them, and as long as they need me, I can’t leave.” That sounded absolutely terrifying. Forced to stay? For what, research? “I mean, I can’ try, but…I. Can. Never. Leave.” He punctuated all the words. 

Khun felt them deep in his chest. A prison with the illusion of freedom. That was the same predicament he was in, wasn’t it? He decided it was time to change topics, or at least try to. “Alright, Professor. Why don’t you explain to me what the Secret World is?” 

“I remember the first time I came across those letters. I was fascinated and terrified. But I knew I wouldn’t be able to let the opportunity pass…To learn about the existence of the Secret World. A secret  _ history  _ of the world. As the years passed, I became more and more obsessed. I lost my job, my wife. It…it took over my whole life, uncovering and documenting the Secret World. I felt this was my life’s mission. Nothing else mattered to me. I was blind. I didn’t realize I was being used. They wanted me to document the secret history of the world, but not so that I could go public with it. I’m their private historian now. I’m their tool. I  _ belong  _ to the Dragon.”

“Explain to me who and what the Dragon are. I’ve never even heard of them.” Khun coaxed. He recalled the blond person drinking coffee who’d coerced him to come, giving him an ultimatum and a letter. The Faction that destroyed this man’s life. What did they  _ want _ ?

“Oh, the Dragon, they are…” the Processor clicked his tongue, “They’re nothing less than the greatest mystery and marvel of the Secret World. From the moment I learned of their existence, I was  _ fascinated _ . I’ve studied them, chased down obscure clues, attempted to decipher their complex past. Some days I feel the only thing I’ve learned is that there is so much left to learn. I’ve only seen scattered pieces of the puzzle. Yet you look long enough at those pieces, and the  _ pattern  _ begins to emerge.” Oh? That caught Khun’s attention. A pattern? “Shapes and colors, whispered voices, like the buzzing of bees,” Khun remembered the buzzing sound he kept hearing. “It may seem like chaos, but there is a beauty and order to it all. Events set in motion to  _ ripple _ across the world, and the world bends to the Dragon’s will. Order through chaos. Construction through destruction.”

Khun leaned back against the couch, chest and mind feeling heavy and grumbled. “I don’t suppose the Illuminati are a thing considering we’re talking about occult and conspiracy theories.”

Apparently, Khun was so, so wrong about everything in his life with the man’s next words. 

“I could talk for  _ hours  _ about the Illuminati, yes. They were once a great and arrogant beast, not unlike the Templars today.” Khun wanted to smack his face. Templars. Of course, there would be  _ Templars  _ if the Illuminati were around. “But they got burned and were forced to change and adapt. The Templars outmatched and outwitted them in Europe, and they did the only thing they could do to save themselves. They fled to the New World.” America. That explained quite a few things, honestly, but Khun wasn’t about to dip his toe into those waters. “They regrouped and rebuilt. The Templars underestimated them. Left them to grow, like cancer, until it was too late. They are even more powerful now than they were back then. And a lot more modern and adaptable than the Templars. The Illuminati is built like a corporation. It’s cold and pragmatic, and not tied to traditions or doctrine. They are all about the bottom line. Power, money, influence…control. They’re  _ obsessed  _ with it. I’m not even sure they know what to do with it anymore, once they have it, other than spreading their web even further. There is no grace, no beauty. No  _ purpose _ . But it is efficient. I’ll give them that.”

“Go on, tell me about the Templars. Might as well checkbox all of them while we’re at it.” Khun rubbed his face for real this time, pinching his nose between both index fingers. This was the worst day of his life. That didn’t even count destroying his apartment with the newfound powers he got after waking up from that godforsaken dream with the broken moon.

The Professor quirked his lips at Khun’s sassy attitude. This young man would do well here. Much like the Golden Twins. He wondered, privately, what those Two were doing now, and if they were destined to meet this blue-haired boy. He humored him. It wasn’t as if he got to talk about these things to anyone very often. Only those Two had been interested before. “The bull in the china shop…They see themselves as refined aristocrats,” his tone was haughty and mocking and Khun snorted, “…but they are brutes. Anyone gets in their way, they get trampled, and they completely lack the ability to change. Yet why would they want to change? They are in a position of enviable power, more so than any other secret society. No vote passes on the Council of Venice unless the Templars are behind it. They have a tradition on their side, they have a weight, they have the  _ biggest _ standing army of any cabal. I’m told that there are  _ changes  _ happening within the organization - the so-called  _ New  _ Templars - but theirs is a slow ship to turn,  _ and _ , based on historical data, I don’t see the more radical elements being successful. Not in the long run. Temple Hall is built on a foundation of history, tradition and blood. Without that, the roof will sooner or later come crashing down on their heads.”

After waiting a long while as Khun took his time compiling and compartmentalizing everything he was explaining, he spoke up again. “There is one more faction, if you are interested in hearing about it, Mr. Khun.” The Professor smiled at him, taking a sip of the drink he had.

Khun shrugged, “Sure, why not? I’m a sponge, Professor. I’ll soak up everything you tell me and piece it all together later.”

“The Brotherhood of Phoenicians Sailors is, supposedly, the black sheep of the Secret World. To be honest, I don’t see a great deal of difference between what they do and what the rest of them have done. What the Phoenicians  _ lack _ is the support of the Council, and the power to push their agenda through a vote. It’s not like the Big Three are bastions of morality. They’re all willing to sell each other out if it serves their cause. The Phoenicians are just a little more willing to turn their coats than the rest of them. They sell their services to the highest bidder, and more often than not, they’re just in it for the money.  _ That’s _ where they differ from the others, and so they’re labelled privateers, but why should that surprise anyone? The Phoenicians have never tried to hide who they are, and they have not changed in more than two thousand years.” Khun paled, which made his already milky skin ghostly. Two  _ thousand _ years? “They’re the favorite punching bag of both the Illuminati and the Templars, and the Phoenicians seem to take it in their stride. Still…I fear the Council and it’s members may be underestimating the Phoenicians at this point. You can only kick a dog so many times before it bites. I believe we’ll soon see how  _ hard  _ they  _ can  _ bite.”

Another long pause to let him digest this. Dragons, Phoenicians, Templars, Illuminati. Occult. Filth. That strange buzzing. Too much information and yet not nearly enough. Khun feared that if he had not gained powers and been thrown on this wild goose chase, and had stumbled into it like this Professor, he would have poured himself into every piece of information, every nook and cranny he could’ve gotten his hands on, too. Earlier he had thought it terrible this poor man had lost it all and could never leave. The more he learned, even if it was barely a scratch upon the surface, the more Khun realized…perhaps it was a prison of the Professor’s own making, too. Once you got in, you could never get out, because all of that knowledge would haunt you  _ forever _ .

So Khun reached into his pocket and pulled out his chapstick before he licked his lips into a chapped and bloody mess, the peppermint scent wafting into his nose. Something made him pause. That was right, he used beeswax chapstick, with vitamin E in it. It slammed into him. Books he read about occult and magic and conspiracies. The items he used. Maybe…somewhere deep down, he already knew, and had been absorbing the little things here and there over the years, too. Was he simply…resistant to it, because it was suddenly thrust into his face as real? If he calmed down and took a breath…could he actually make sense of it, in some fashion or another? “I’d like to know about the Council of Venice, Processor.”

“The competition and infighting between the Big Three is not new. It’s been going on for, literally, ages.” Yeah, Khun got that part from the  _ two thousand years _ remark. “It used to be they would meet in the open and fight to the death, but it came to a point at the battle of Armageddon. It was the clash of the titans, and the world was almost destroyed in its wake. 

“From that day on, the societies agreed there needed to be rules. If the world was ever to discover that it was being ruled by a small elite and that the demons and monsters of the night are more than figments of our imaginations, there would be widespread panic, and our society would crumble. So they formed the Council of Venice. A council governed by the cabals to keep their world secret. All the major and minor players have representatives, and they have the authority to police the other societies. To a degree. You can only imagine how hard it is to govern those who wish to govern themselves, how difficult it is to deal with as many agendas as there are member societies. Yet for all the failings of the Council, there is one thing they are in full control of; the Secret War.” 

Khun didn’t like the sound of that. “Rather than having agents fight each other all over the place, risking death and exposure, the Council allows for organized battles in approved locations, where the secret societies can fight for the control of resources, far from the public eye and with as little blood spilled as possible.”

“Alright. One last question…then I suppose I should go before they drag me around again.” Khun took a breath, “I want to know about where we are.”

Ah, so they were talking about Seoul for their parting conversation, even if it was mostly one-sided. “The Dragon does not belong to any place. This is simply where they are now, and it’s like a maelstrom, pulling everything in. Spitting out what it doesn’t want.” The Professor explained with a hum. “If you land here, and stay here, you’re important to them in some way or another. You might know why and how, or you might not, but just being here means that you are. This place, this neighbourhood within Seoul, is like the Dragon itself. It’s a maze, an illusion. It’s chaos. It’s the Dragon.”

Khun stood up and stretched. From running around too much to sitting too long. He really couldn’t figure out the right balance here. For now, getting back up and moving again would be good. He had a place to be, apparently, so he should see what ‘they’ wanted.

“Come back and see me sometime,” the Professor smiled, raising his glass and Khun bowed his head.

Maybe their paths would cross again. Maybe they wouldn’t.

* * *

Finally heading out of the hotel, there was another gathering of butterflies waiting for him. 

Winding, winding alleys and passageways. What surprised him the most, was seeing…more lightboxes around Seoul. More Lore. It made him even turn tail and go back to the Hotel, searching among the nooks and crannies. For the first time since he got here to this new place, Khun felt like he was having  _ fun _ , a goose chase to a treasure hunt of sorts. Some were hard to spot, up on the rooftops or hidden up some stairs, but he was able to check on the specially tailored phone how many he had under an app literally called Lore that pinged every time he finished absorbing one. It had to do with energy waves or something. Three about the Buzzing and a whopping  _ thirteen _ for the Dragon it said.

Reaching what looked like a bike shop, still on his hunt because he hadn’t grabbed all the Lore according to the app, Khun saw more butterflies that were guiding him down a different direction. This is where the walls got less modern and more old school. Down, down, like they made steps themselves, following the small platforms and little steps until he reached the bottom where two guards stood. They turned their noses up, unimpressed, but he was able to go past them with no issue. 

Past a couple of trees in stone circle gardens and between buildings that had to be hundreds of years old, eventually, he was pulled into what looked like a dojo. This was familiar, he knew what a dojo was. A Master sat at the end of the hall, cross-legged, and after waiting a moment to be acknowledged, the Master stood and gave him a bow. Khun did the same, being polite. 

“I am Dae-Su. I am owner of the Way. You are the Dragon. One of ten thousand raindrops to begin a flood, a flood that will crash upon the stagnant and fearful. From out of the stillness comes great force. Great force for change.” Dae-Su regarded him up and down and narrowed his eyes. Khun felt thoroughly scrutinized and weak, but he kept his posture straight and stance firm. “I will show you. This is a house of learning. None come here unless they are prepared to learn.”

Well, that was true. He may have been guided here, but he definitely wanted to learn. If he was going to jump into a sea full of sharks, he figured the dojo would have the tools he needed to defend himself. “Then show me.” He said simply.

“You contain a power; the power of anima. It is of your breath, your blood, your life. It is energy many seek to understand, seek to control. You are extraordinary. This can channel this anima to your will. To the will of the Dragon. The closed-fist. The talisman. The sword. Even the gun. All of these are instruments awaiting your direction. Look around this house at the weapons of war. Take them, sound them out, learn the opportunities they provide. Learn the Way. When we are satisfied, you take one as your own. This is your time for change. Before, your life was clouded, uncertain. That has ended. Dark days are coming. Some say they have already arrived, and bring all we deserve. We shall train you to resist these dark days, and in resisting, reshape them. That is the Way.”

Khun was startled by the observation. Were all Chosen that way? Or was it simply him? He didn’t believe he was ‘extraordinary’ but he was willing to try his damndest to take on whatever bullshit this Faction threw at him. Spite and determination not to go down without a fight had gotten him this far. Dae-su let him go, and Khun did take a glance around at everything being offered. Yet he still found himself sliding his fingers along a smooth, lovely looking blade with a silver handle and a wire doll. Elemental magic, fire, ice and lightning. That was what he had wished for in the vision, but all he had was the sword. A long-range weapon would make him feel better. So he took both. 

Going back to Dae-Su he presented them to him and he nodded. Taking a chip from a little box on the table next to him, he held his hand out. Blinking, Khun realized he wanted the phone so he took it out and let him have it. 

“ _ Initializing field performance module _ .” Came a voice from his phone that nearly made him jump out of his skin and he put his hand over his chest. Holy fuck. So the thing talked, too? “ _ DNA encoding recognized. Syncing…Sync complete. Field Performance Module Online _ .”

“So whatever connects the phone to the Lore must be the DNA…” Khun mused thoughtfully.

Dae-Su arched a brow at him. “It is both DNA and your energy. The chip I inserted is your skills and abilities. You’ll have a new button on your device and looking through it will explain how to use each one. If you have the aptitude, you may even learn all of the weapons of war. Your device, with that chip, measures your input and output when you use your powers. Some Chosen that have come through have equated it to ‘leveling up’ in games, but that is more of a New Age concept with the younger generation. What it really does is keep track of your energy levels and your magical prowess so you can improve. The stronger you become from learning the weapons you have, gaining endurance, stamina, and reaching new limits, pushing past your own boundaries, you can take the time to learn an ability that was once too strong for you before.”

Well, wasn’t that fascinating? It was certainly one way to put it and he was curious to know what he was capable of as he was. The knowledge gave him something to look forward to. Personal goals. Get stronger, unlock a new power. Be able to learn how to use the other weapons. He already knew how to wield a gun. Perhaps he could pick up a pair of pistols when he was ready. 

A bleep on his phone and Khun glanced at it. An email?

**The Connected**

_ From: Bang Cha _

_ There is much more we need to discuss. Dae-Su will see that you receive everything you need. Be certain to learn the value of upgrading your weapons before you are finished. You’ll find this to be of utmost use. Do not take long, however. We have an urgent assignment that will require your attention. _

Khun looked at the dojo Master, “I guess upgrading is on the list?”

“I was waiting for you to get the message. Alright. We’ll start with the blade first and I’ll guide you through it. Then I’ll have you do it on your own for the elemental doll.” Nodding, he watched as Dae-Su pointed at a box, “Open that. It has discarded weapons inside it.”

It was a fairly easy process, or at least Khun thought so. Put the main weapon in the middle you wanted the power to be drawn to, then put the others, up to five, around it. Like a pentagram, but it could be done with less. Place your hand on the middle weapon, concentrate, and then draw tendrils of magic to the others like a web or a link. From there, once they’re all connected, put your hand on the main one and use it as an anchor to draw the energy from the rest. 

As soon as the tendril snapped the power was drained and gone. They were nothing more and nothing less than empty shells. The main weapon would glow, and then fade, looking as normal as the rest. You could tell when a weapon refused to upgrade any further when it wouldn’t connect to anything else. When two weapons fully upgraded were put together, one would completely absorb the other and the energy would turn  _ colors _ , going from white to green, to blue. You couldn’t make a purple, they were rare finds that had a unique signature. Yet there were ‘blue kits’ to make special blue weapons.

He was a little dizzy from all of it, but once Dae-Su gathered the duds he was left to do the same with the wire doll. When he was done, he strapped what he had to his belt and gave the Master a bow. “Thank you. I’ll be going now.”

“Take care, Chosen one. May you find others like you on your journey.”

Now Khun was equipped, he was directed to the main building. 

After pushing open the large wooden, double doors he was greeted with olive-toned green decor with gold trimming and candles. Lots of candles and several paper lanterns with the dragon symbol on them. A runner guided him to where a woman had been waiting, standing by a child in a chair. 

“Welcome to the Dragon.” The woman wore what looked like a shiny olive suit and she walked towards him before stopping in front of the boy. “Sorry about the rough handling; time’s short and we don’t have the luxury for a soft landing.” Wasn’t that nice, getting straight to the point. Maybe he’d be able to put some of these pieces together. “I’m Bong Cha; I’m the Voice of the Dragon.” She introduced, watching Khun with a calculating expression and a judgemental look in her eyes. He met it with squared shoulders and an arched brow. “You don’t speak with the child, you don’t speak with the monks. You speak to me. You get your instructions from me, that’s how it works. Are we clear?”

With a few nods to indicate that he understood, Khun chose to remain silent. It was obvious how important these people were, and he had no intention of making his life any harder than it already was. The woman paced around the chair of the young boy as she spoke up again. “We believe in free will, within boundaries. I’m gonna set those boundaries for you, and then it’s up to you to make your own choices. We all have a role to play, and we’re all part of the Dragon. The head…” She motioned towards the child. “…The mouth…” To herself this time, “…The claws and fire…” She directed those words to Khun with his instruments of war on his hips. “…Even the dust and debris swept along in our wake.” A small wave towards the servant cleaning, sweeping the floors.

Bong Cha continued on, “We’re  _ all  _ part of the equation. The reality is disruption. We’re the agents of Chaos, and we do what needs to be done to shape the future; we do what is necessary. At this moment, the systems are swarming on Solomon Island. Think of it as the weather; a storm is brewing, and you’re the butterfly.” She paused for a moment, letting him take in her words. “You need to flap your wings; add another chaotic event in the mix. Aside from our rivals on the Council, no one’s getting in or out of Solomon Island. The only road is through Agartha, and your kind has the right of way in there.”

Joy. What in the world was Agartha? He felt like it’d been said somewhere but so much had happened he couldn’t quite recall. Unfortunately, if he interrupted this woman she might simply ignore him, so he might as well hear her out and tipped his head in acknowledgment. Solomon Island. Agartha. Rivals. Goddamn it, his head pounded. 

“There are predictions, models; that even if I did show them to you, you wouldn’t have a clue how to read them. Trust  _ us  _ to know where you’ll be useful; where you’ll be able to disrupt and add discord. The Templars and the Illuminati are racing to unlock the secrets of Solomon Island. We could wait, let them tear each other apart, but… There are designs, models awaiting new data, fresh agitators, acts of gentle terror.”

_ That _ actually made sense. People were predictable. Places and things and events could be predicted, too. It was logical. For once Khun actually breathed a sigh of relief and she was the one to arch her brow at him this time. He had heard this along the way, too. It was nice to have it reaffirmed.

The child waved his hand dismissively. “It’s time to leave.” Bong Cha spoke for him, allowing Khun to bow his head politely. Clearly, he wouldn’t be getting anything else, so turned and walked out of the main building. He had her instructions; now all he had to do was find this Agartha and begin his mission. Learn something along the way while he was at it. Everything had been piecemeal, given to him as the need called for it. He hated a ‘need to know’ basis.

Khun didn’t know what awaited him on the other side. Maybe being a part of the Dragon would allow him to be of use somehow. Give him a purpose. He had never really had a purpose in life. All he’d done was go day-to-day. Feeling a bit at a loss, he made his way back up where he’d come from. 

There was the bike shop again, and after grabbing the Lore inside it. His fingertips tingled and Khun shrugged, following where the pull of energy was.

Buzzing.

A garden greeted him on the other side of the shop and there was a glowing orange light. Was that…a portal? The grass that grew here was a brilliant green, a cobblestone path leading up to an arch of branches. The buzzing of honey bees rang in his ears as he drew closer. Was this the way to Agartha? Grabbing the next Lore beside it, it took him a second to realize that inside the hollow was constructed of large tree roots. He reached out his hand to touch the glowing portal and his fingertips slipped through, pulling him. 

What was on the other side was unlike anything he had ever seen before.


	3. Paths Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rest? What is rest when you're thrust into a world that would make Hollywood drool?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a doozy but we get a glimpse at Viole and Wangnan and we finally get Bam! We get to see what he's been up to!
> 
> \---
> 
> Thank you, Mystic, for betaing for me!

  * [Viole’s disk](https://legacy.tswdb.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CF_QL3-Copy.jpg)
  * [Gold pistols](https://i.imgur.com/i3sD8Lu.png)
  * [Bam’s disk](https://i.imgur.com/tVXTP3B.png)



**[cutscenes below]** ****

  * **[Welcome to the Hollow Earth](https://youtu.be/5YgA2ZiVfjQ) **
  * [**Jack Boone Intro**](https://youtu.be/u0CT5ESSM44?t=100)
  * **[For a Fistfull of Zombies](https://youtu.be/u0CT5ESSM44?t=220)** [a little talking from player]
  * **[Sherrif Introduction](https://youtu.be/9LLwaQLK5i8) / [Horror Show surveillance](https://youtu.be/9LLwaQLK5i8?t=315)**
  * **[Elm Street Blues](https://youtu.be/ma5Y-IMHk-g)**
  * **Technically I did Elm Street Blues b4 Horror Show but it's whatever**



* * *

**x Agartha x**

Khun was rendered speechless at how breathtaking this place was. He was  _ inside a tree _ , warm yellow light illuminating the place from top to bottom and at all the sides. He couldn’t even tell where the light source was. 

Several branches stretched out in the distance. At the end of each branch, he could see a shimmering arch with what he assumed was a portal to a different location entirely; that fact alone boggled his mind. 

He whistled low, highly impressed, and ahead of him were two towering metal golems standing on each side of an older gentleman that was staring at his pocket watch. 

When he approached him, the man perked. “Hello,” He spoke up in a British accent, earning an amused smile from the young man. “Yes?” He asked, wondering what he needed.

Walking closer, Khun motioned around them “What is this place, if I may ask?” He had a feeling it was a stupid question as if he should already know.

The man chuckled and swept his hand towards the platform up ahead. “Now by, this is the Hollow Earth. Agartha.” He faced him completely. “I do hope you’re not here for the local service; it’s running somewhat tardy. By my watch, it’s…” He paused briefly to look down at his pocket watch. “…100 years overdue at quarter past the hour.” He tutted a couple times in disappointment, watching the newcomer narrow his eyes in confusion. There was an amused smirk that was hidden behind his mustache.

“Judging by the cut of you, you’re more of a world traveler. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Now this Underground Realm, like the great British rail system, is the very model of efficiency. Agartha’s thoroughfares sprouts from the Tree of Life…and connect back to the surface. Distance and time bend in here. Why, you can cross the globe in a brisk walk!” 

“Is it safe?” Khun asked slowly, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Of course it’s perfectly safe,” He answered quickly. “No one’s entirely sure how it works. Quite bedeviled the science boffins, but I’m assured they have their top men on it. Top men.” His efforts to reassure him worked, though Khun didn't have a reason to disbelieve him. Looking up at the metal giant, Khun noticed that the one closest to him lifted its arm and extended it above him. Its enclosed fist was holding something. “You’ll need one of these…” The man told him, watching as the giant dropped a rather large orb, yet the newcomer caught it with ease.

“Mind your fingers.” He warned, watching the blue-haired boy examine the spherical device. “Thank you,” He tipped his hat towards the giant, looking back at Khun to explain, “Fascinating devices. Fortunately, there’s still enough to hand out like sweets. Consider it your anchor to the Hollow Earth. It can return you here in a flash, proverbially and quite literally.”

Placing the sphere into his bag, Khun looked back at the man who stepped to the side. “Well then. Onwards to the New England coast, what?” With an extended arm, the conductor waved towards the platform that would take him to Solomon Island.

“Thank you,” Khun gave him a small bow. Going over to the teleporter, he came to a complete stop. He was hesitant and glanced to see if anyone else was around. He would have asked the British gentleman but felt like he would waste more of his time if he did. “What do I do? Do I just step on this thing or what?” he muttered to himself, frowning deeply.

Meanwhile, two tall men made their way into Agartha from the London portal behind him. “That place seriously gives me the creeps, Viole…” grumbled a blonde male, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked to his friend that stood by his side. “I’m hoping this mission ends soon; I would be happy if you didn’t have to go back to Innsmouth Academy ever again.”

“I suppose I’ve simply gotten used to the sights and smells by now.” A voice that reminded Khun of autumn leaves rustling against the ground answered him. Such a soft-spoken young man and it was cute how he tucked a strand of chestnut brown hair behind his ear, almost shy. It was really long and silky, sweeping all the way down to his ass even with it in a ponytail. “Sadly, no one’s been able to do  _ shit _ before they up and leave. You know as well as I do, that until whoever they’re waiting for shows up, I’m stuck there. It’s only thanks to you I even got a break, Wangnan.” 

The brunet shifted his assault rifle on his shoulder. His trench coat was pitch black to the point Khun wondered if he was going to be swallowed by the darkness. “I hope Bam’s alright…” a soft, remorseful sigh as they kept walking. One would assume heavy black leather combat boots would make a loud thump-thump on the ground beneath them, but this man might as well be a ghost, the trench coat wisping against his black pants was the only sound made at all.

Wangnan heaved out a sigh, "Bam's fine, I'm sure of it." His citrine eyes watched his newest friend with worry, though he knew that he was right. “It can’t be helped, I guess. Just be careful, you hear, 'Ole?” He told him and he shifted around his shotgun briefly before strapping it around his shoulders again. The movement caused a pair of gold pistols to peek from the holsters on his hips, hidden by the blond’s jacket. “I don’t want to end up having to save your ass when you can handle yourself just fine.” He smirked teasingly. The man carried himself with lazy confidence, and some would say that he appeared too casual and laid-back because of this.

“I'll be okay, Wan.” Viole shifted, pink rising to his cheekbones, and Khun wished for a moment he could see his eyes through the fringe. The smaller man's mouth barely twitched, but Khun could tell he was smiling. Viole continued towards the teleporter, pausing when he spotted Khun. Another twitch of that mouth and it did things to Khun's guts. He still couldn't see his eyes and it bothered him. “A new face, Wangnan.” He hummed, and was he as unimpressed as everyone else, or was there something he wasn't seeing? “I wonder how long you’ll last.” With that he turned towards the glowing disk and stepped on it, immediately launching into the air and over towards the main tree hub, long hair flying behind him like a whip. Gold glinted on his back, too. A strange-looking disk with three animals that looked like dogs chasing one another. 

Khun jumped back in surprise as he watched him fly past him, eyes wide with a hand over his rapidly beating heart. He pursed his lips together in a thin line until he heard the blonde laugh heartily at the scene. “Don’t mind my friend; he’s a little quiet but he's a good sort, I promise.” He said, hoping to reassure him. “I take it you’re new to this? Thrown to the fire and the wolves?”

“Yes, you could say that…” he answered, sizing him up. The blond was a tall and rather muscular man, his orange shirt clinging to his chest, his pectorals pretty well defined through it. A heavy hunter green bomber jacket covered his arms, keeping his upper body warm since the weather had been rather cold lately. Khun could immediately tell that the blond had much more experience in the field than he did and that alone made him feel like he was in over his head again.

“Ah, don’t worry. You’ll get used to things soon enough.” Wangnan's smile was supposed to be disarming, taking a mental note on how the blue-haired man carried himself. “Name’s Wangnan Ja, call sign Red Bull.” He introduced himself, extending a friendly hand to him.

“Khun. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Wangnan.” He accepted the handshake without hesitation, bright liquid gold eyes meeting his sapphire. He let go and Wangnan crossed his arms over his chest.

"Nice accent you have. Spanish?" That made Khun pause. Wangnan chuckled at him, "I guess if you were in Korea you wouldn't notice the language change."

"Aren't you Korean?" Khun was thrown off. His name, though…?

"I am, but as a Chosen, you'll never have to worry about a language barrier ever again. There are ways to cancel it out, spells and stuff, but you understood the Conductor, didn't you? He is English." Wangnan patted his shoulder, “Anyway if I’m right, you’re going to Solomon Island? Be careful out there; it’ll start to get rough from here on out.” As if it hadn't been already. He glanced upward to notice Viole disappearing into the middle of the Solomon Island portals that would take him to the Savage Coast. 

“I’m heading to Kingsmouth.” Khun nodded in response, trying not to mind the touch or that Wangnan was distracted. There was a feeling in the back of his mind that friends were hard to keep in this new life and it was natural to worry.

“They  _ always  _ start at Kingsmouth.” Wangnan frowned, talking mainly to himself.

Khun narrowed his eyes, suspicion mounting, “What do you mean?” He found himself asking. They?

“Ah, sorry. Basically, most of the new Chosen are sent there. Probably because it’ll help give them a handle on their new abilities, but that's only recently because of what happened.” He explained, pointing up towards the portals that Viole had gone through. “There are three portals that will take you to Solomon Island; the one on the far left will take you to Kingsmouth.”

Khun followed his gaze and nodded. This might be an opportunity to learn more practical, usable information. “So…What exactly  _ is  _ going on at Solomon Island? Do you know why I’m being sent there?” 

“I guess your Faction didn’t give you much information to go on, huh?” Wangnan watched him sigh deeply, “Don’t sweat it; I’ll answer any questions you have.” He reassured him with a grin, noticing how Khun’s shoulders dropped in relief. “From what I’ve gathered, your Faction is testing you to see if you can handle what lies beyond that portal. They want to see what you’re capable of and if you can handle the horrors that wait for you there. Solomon Island has a story that tells of a cursed ship called the Lady Margaret that brought a strange fog to the island. That fog still remains, and I don’t really know what exactly waits for you there, but what I do know is that there will be monsters of many different kinds.”

Wangnan watched the newbie frown deeply and he decided to have some mercy on Khun, “I don’t know if you know this already, but I’ll explain it just this once, alright? So make sure you remember it. Every Chosen that goes to Solomon Island will either power through it and get stronger both mentally and physically, or give up and return to their Faction base. Those who have given up become mindless soldiers for their Faction’s cause, no longer thinking for themselves or making their own decisions.” His gaze lowered to the ground beneath his feet as he recalled seeing several of his fellow Chosen go down that path. “Another thing is that you can die, but staying permanently dead is the difficult part; you’re basically reborn by one of the Anima Wells which are scattered around the world. I’ll tell you this; you still feel the pain of death and it is nothing to laugh about. I hope you have a good mental fortitude or it'll mess you up.” His eyes grew dark, while his jaw pulsated as he thought of a dark memory. “It is possible to die a quick and permanent death if you’re lucky enough to be one of them, but only due to magical interference. You'll never actually die by normal means now that you're one of us.”

“Wangnan?” Khun’s voice snapped him back to reality, blinking a few times to see the concern on his angled features.

“Sorry about that; I got carried away there.” He shrugged, watching the other man purse his lips disbelievingly. “Anyway, that was the reason why my friend, Viole, said what he did.”

“I understand,” Khun assured. “By the way, do you happen to know anything about the Dragon?”

“Hmm…” He rubbed the stubble on his chin for a moment as he pondered Khun’s question. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about them; I was with the Templars for a while, but that was some time ago. Viole and Bam are from the Dragon, be sure to ask them. They will know more than I do. Bam's sure to be at Kingsmouth still, so here's hoping you'll meet up.”

“That’s alright.” Khun shifted and looked around Agartha again, “You seemed to be on your own mission, so I won’t keep you.”

“You sure? Well…if you run into Bam then have him answer whatever you got churnin’ in your head.” Wangnan nodded.

“Thank you for your help, anyway, Wangnan.” Khun bowed his head gratefully, making the blonde laugh lightly.

“Not a problem; I’m glad I could give you some advice. Be careful, okay?” He smiled as he nodded in response, pulling his hand away then made his way towards a portal that appeared to lead to Egypt; there were pyramids shimmering within it.

Watching him leave, Khun released a sigh before he looked down at the disk, taking a few steps back away from it for a moment. He rushed towards the blue disk and found himself flying through the air much like Viole had before. It made his blood rush in his ears until he finally landed on his feet, stumbling a little from the momentum. He looked back to where he had been previously, eyes wild and wide. That was such a long jump, but it seemed to be the only transport between each of the platforms. 

He chuckled to himself, walking along the platform he was on now. A massive tree trunk that was hollowed out on the inside made him feel small. There were other people here, and even…shops? Maybe he could check it out later if he was able to come and go freely. 

Reaching the disk that would launch him up to the Solomon Island portals, he decided to simply step on it instead of running towards it. The same thing happened, and he automatically held his free arm out for balance, gripping his bag tightly. This time when he landed, it was soft with barely a grunt and he didn’t stumble. Puffing a laugh, he felt the rush of adrenaline slowly fade from his system. 

To his left was the portal to Kingsmouth; He stared at it for a short while until he regained his composure. Standing straight once again, Khun moved forward and went through the portal, wondering what would await him there.

* * *

**x Kingsmouth x**

Three weeks. It had been  _ three weeks _ …damn near a month. Running around from here to there, he had completed tasks from people in the town itself but hadn’t even traveled past the bridge that led to the airport. Something kept pulling him back to the town. By now, the zombies and mindless monsters like the draug were easy enough to pop a few rounds from his pistols and land on matching chamber slots for extra damage. Either that or distort the very space around him with a schism and chaos energy in his palms. He had become fairly good acquaintances with the people still left here, making runs here and there to see Norma, the Priest, Madame Roget, and Jack Boone. Make sure they are still alive and all.

All this time had been plenty enough to come to grips and terms with a lot of the things that had happened to him and his twin until now. From these powers at their fingertips to the dreams and visions, on top of the…Filth, as everyone called it. The Fog barely scratched the surface of what was going on. In fact, the Fog wasn’t even significant in comparison to the grand scheme of things. Funny, how he had been here so long and had yet to get off this damn island. There was so much more to see and do, in Agartha there had even been so many connecting roots and portals. If this was their life now, Bam at least wanted to see and explore. What else could there be? His legs were restless and he wanted to  _ keep moving _ , but some other force kept tugging him by the collar of his shirt back to Kingsmouth. 

Viole hadn’t felt such a pull. Instead, it was the opposite, an urge to keep going forward. So they had, for the first time in their lives, parted ways. At the tunnel to the Savage Coast two weeks ago, Viole had gone on without him to figure out what laid beyond this little town.

Today was no different. Jogging along the road outside of the town towards the entrance of Agartha, back to Boone who was posted there to greet new blood. Bam wanted to visit the old western guy and listen to one of his stories. Zombies didn’t even bother attacking him; his power was too great by now, driving them away rather than towards him. It still sickened him to see them eating corpses, but all he had to do was keep looking forward and keep running. 

That was when Bam saw him. A young man about his age with pale blue hair blending with the sky above. Cobalt eyes had a calculating glint to them, taking in everything around him and analyzing it. Yet he seemed too fresh. Skin healthy and unblemished. The horrors of this new life had yet to take its toll…how new  _ was he _ ? Something twisted violently in the brunet as he watched the newcomer. A resolve. He didn’t want him to run through Kingsmouth never to be seen again like the rest. 

Bam watched Boone take his rifle and shoot it at a zombie to the right of him, running towards Boone and the newcomer. The man’s eyes were wide as they watched the zombie’s head explode in a shower of gore. Sure enough, Boone was giving him his first mission.

When he knew he was done, Bam walked up the small hill to them, “Hey, Mr. Boone. I see we got a new one in town.”

The middle-aged man looked up and smiled at him, tilting his cowboy hat in respect, “Aye, lad.” He looked at the newbie and nodded to Bam, “D’is one ‘ere’s Golden Hawk, or dat’s what ‘is call sign is d’ese days after he earned it. Yer lucky, lad. He’s a firecracker.” He gave Khun an arched brow before he addressed the brunet boy, “I didn’t know ya were still around ‘ere, Bam. Shoulda gone with yer Golden Falcon.”

Bam chuckled, “You say that every time I come to visit. Nah, I gotta make sure yer still alive, remember?” a slip of accent, picking up Boone’s every time he came by.

Boone shooed him, “Yer not gunna ‘ave much choice now, ya know. I think d’is one’s what you’ve been waitin’ for.”

“Khun. Pleased to meet you.” Khun bowed his head to both of them after composing himself. He had taken the time to observe his surroundings while Bam and Boone had talked. The town of Kingsmouth was quiet aside from the groans of the undead roaming around, the trees multicolored from the Autumn weather. He let out a breath through his nose. A part of him wished that this was another dream; something that he could wake up from and pretend that it wasn’t real. 

Unfortunately, this was Khun’s new and dark reality, whether he liked it or not. “How bad is it here?” he asked, turning to Bam and he took him in. Chestnut brown locks in a short ponytail at the back of his head that swung from side to side with each movement he made. The outfit he wore was simple, a black leather jacket with a red shirt underneath it and dark wash blue jeans tucked into black steel-toed boots. He really did look ready for combat at any moment, dual pistol holders on his hips like Wangnan, but the guns in them were normal revolvers. 

“You have absolutely no idea.” Bam shook his head and tipped his head at Boone, “You sure about him?”

Boone shrugged, “You’ve stayed in Kingsmouth fer about a month now. Others ‘ave come ‘n’ gone, but I got teh same feelin’ ‘bout dis one dat I did fer ya Golden Twins and that Red Bull kid. If he ain’t it, I dunno who is.”

Khun swallowed hard at Boone’s choice of words, eyes darting between the two. Golden Twins. He did look like Viole, and he wondered if Viole’s eyes were as antique gold as this man with such a boyish face. He was silent for a moment longer then released a soft sigh. “I am quite aware that I’m new to this…” He started, keeping his voice even, “Whatever’s going on…I promise that I won’t be a burden. I’ll follow your lead if you’re willing to show me the ropes.” His shoulders tensed, waiting for judgment.

“Tell me who you are, your Faction, and your abilities,” Bam demanded first, putting his hands on his hips as he watched him closely. He felt hopeful. Jack Boone had a good instinct about people and he prayed he was right about this. He did like that Khun was determined to help somehow.

“Yes, of course.” He nodded firmly, “My name is Khun Aguero Agnis, and I was recruited into the Dragon. I can control the elements of fire, ice, and lightning. I also have a blade.”

Bam rolled his wrist and summoned up a swirling mixture of pale green and purple that seemed to bend and warp the air around it, similar to how desert heat would make the very air appear to warble, “I can control Chaos, and I have pistols. Your class is called Assassin, and I’m referred to as a Trickster while my twin Viole is a Mercenary, using Chaos and an assault rifle.” He dismissed his magic with a wave, “Jyu Grace is my actual name and I’m also in the Dragons. We’re lucky, in my opinion. The Dragon doesn’t seem to care as much as the other two Factions about what we do or how we handle things. In the end, it’s about predictability. So far, they’ve been annoyed with me for breaking the pattern and staying in Kingsmouth for so long compared to literally everyone else. They’ve only gotten off my back because they believed me when I said I felt like I needed to stay, and that something was magically keeping me from crossing the bridge to the other side of this area, where the junkyard and airfield are.”

Khun nodded in understanding, remaining silent as Bam explained himself. Bam’s movements were fluid and smooth, like running water. He took a note of how Bam carried himself with confidence, and a spark of admiration ignited in his being. “I see…” He murmured, “Something magically keeping you here…yet Boone thinks you’ve been waiting for me?” Why him? What made him so special?

“Well, I guess we could figure that out together. If Boone’s got a feeling about you, then let’s head into town.” Bam turned around, “You have a lot to learn, and a lot to see. There are still things I haven’t seen, the whole island actually, so it’s not all on you. However, I am probably going to end up standing behind you that way you can gain experience yourself, and only help you when you need it or if you need it. Don’t take any harshness to heart. You heard, people come and go, so…” He shrugged, “It’s hard to care when you don’t form any attachments.”

“Yeah, I understand what you mean.” Way more than Bam knew. He gave him a small smile of reassurance. The words that Wangnan told him back in Agartha ran through his mind, gnawing at him. This must be what he meant when people who come here have given up. He didn’t want to become like them. Clenching his fists he nodded to the fellow Dragon member. “After you, then.”

“Then your first step is to simply kill some regular zombies.” Bam motioned his hand where the forest was dense, clusters of zombies digging at corpses, as well as towards the cars.

Khun took his first steps towards one of the smaller hordes across the road, watching them for a moment as they fed off their victim’s flesh and insides. Nose scrunching at the scent of death, he shook it off and opened his palms, electricity flowing through his finger. There was no hesitation as he attacked the undead, using the memory of the graveyard to his advantage, the sparks dancing between all four zombies. Enraged, they came charging at him but he stood his ground, twirling his right hand above his head to unleash an ice spell. Their agonizing cries rang in his ears as Khun continued to shoot lightning at them, watching them crumble to the ground with soft thuds. All of it felt a lot more  _ visceral  _ than any of the dreams and he swallowed the weird-tasting spit in his mouth.

“Quick, efficient. Did the Dreamer send you to the Graveyard?” Bam asked curiously, “I haven’t really spoken to anyone else about it, just my brother.”

“She called herself the Dream Architect for me, but yes. I did.” Khun nodded slowly. So they had some shared experiences? “I saw Viole and Wangnan in Agartha.” He watched as relief flooded through Bam and he let out a heavy breath.

“That’s…that’s good to hear. Wangnan’s a really good guy. Um…” Bam cleared his throat, “Let’s keep going.” He pointed down the road, “The main town is down this way. Let’s see what else you can do.”

Khun nodded and as they walked, with Bam in front of him this time, he noticed a brown disk on his back that could even be mistaken for a buckler. It was simple, bronze maybe, with raised circles around the rim and a dragon head in the center. What were the disks for, anyway? Did it have something to do with Bam’s Chaos magic? With a shrug, he was directed to take down a couple stragglers and he did so. When they reached some cars, he noticed a horde near the trees. He could taunt them over, but before he could Bam spoke up beside him.

  
“Jump on the car with the blinking red light,” Bam pointed to the one in question. “That will trigger the alarm and bring the zombies to us. Not every car has an alarm, but this is a good lure.”

“Bring them to us. Got it.” Khun compiled, climbing up onto the roof of the vehicle, and jumped up in the air. Jostling it when his feet slammed against it, the loud blaring of the alarm caught the horde’s attention, charging towards them. He unleashed a chain of lightning at them, staying on top of the car until they eventually fell due to his ice effect.

“Good,” Bam nodded, grinning at his quick work and urged him to follow. “There should be a gas can down the road. Ignite it, then draw the zombies into the fire. Make sure you avoid the flames as much as possible. Just showing you some tricks that can be used in the future to make our lives easier, especially at the end of the day when magic’s running low.”

“Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. My constitution sucks already and I get tired easy,” Khun grunted as he got down from the car. 

They ducked and weaved until they reached the gas can that laid on the pavement. Kneeling down, Khun let his palm heat up and lit the fuse, quickly backing away so the flames wouldn’t touch them. It was a small explosion when the gas can ignited, but he attracted three more zombies towards the scorching heat using a simple chain zap. Their rotting bodies eventually hit the flames, their screams of pain echoing around them until they fell to the ground lifeless.

“Not bad at all. This way,” Bam motioned him forward and Khun kept pace with him fairly well, but then Khun was blowing past him, “Hey, wait!”

“It’s a Lore!” Boone had said to find out what made the zombies tick and he would, but he spotted one of those yellow boxes and he became single-minded. These lightboxes were quickly becoming his favorite things, a treasure hunt as well as an information store. There had even been one by the exit/entrance to Agartha and one behind Boone’s tent. Bam laughed behind him and Khun could only equate it to bells. Light, airy, and free. It felt so ironic in a place like this. 

“I guess I’ve gotten a lot of the Lore in this area that I forgot there was one there,” Bam admitted, watching Khun with amusement as he reached over the back of the white truck. Bam couldn’t see it, so it only looked like Khun was tapping at the air, but something jumped in Bam’s chest seeing how excited Khun was. Some zombies had noticed Khun was there and Bam jumped in, green and purple swirling in the air and he stomped the ground, a pulse of purple spider webbing out from his foot and shaking the undead where they stood and they collapsed.

Khun hadn’t even been watching him, staring at the flash of words on the yellow box.

**_The Buzzing #8_ **

_ We are the Education Protocol.  _

_ We climb the twisted ladder of your cells; we haunt your digital text; we hide in your hat.  _ _ We are the jagged teeth that trip the tumblers of your mind. _

_ You will not know our triggers. For all the world's a cypher. And everything is true. _

_ Be not afraid. Be terrified. The dark days are here. _

_ Our wisdom flows so sweet. Taste and see. _

Tugging his phone from his pocket, Khun tapped the app for Lore to check. That was the last one and he grinned toothily. He would have to sit and read it later along with that Dragon set he’d gathered in Seoul. Putting it away he looked at Bam, “Ah, I’m sorry about that. Thanks for watching my back.”

“I said I would, didn’t I?” Bam smiled softly, “I’ve been here for three weeks, so I had to give myself something to do. It’s a lot of fun to go Lore hunting. When we need a break, I can lead you around to the places I remember had them. You’ll be able to get a map on your phone at the police station once we talk to the Sheriff and you can input map markers.”

“Oh wow, that’s useful.” Khun mused, “Alright. I’ll let you know if I see one next time. What’s next?”

Bam pointed a little ways away, towards another horde feeding upon a half-eaten corpse. “Take them out, then examine that body.”

Following the fellow Dragon towards the group of undead, he unleashed his fire magic this time once he was close enough to them. After dealing several fireballs and an ice circle, their disturbing cries and groans faded into silence. Khun knelt down to examine the corpse they had been devouring, wondering what he was supposed to be looking for. A small tremor shook the ground. 

This wasn’t an earthquake and he snapped his head up to see a much larger, mutated zombie heading their way. “What the hell is that?!” He cried, jumping back onto his feet and blasts of fire its way. 

“It’s a Corpse Gorger!” Bam called over its roar, but he wasn’t coming to help. Damn, he said he would watch his back but Khun was supposed to improve his skills, too.

He didn’t have time to ask more questions. This thing was twice his size as it stomped swiftly towards them, giving him no chance to think, attacking it again. Dodging and rolling across the dead brown grass, he slipped his blade from his belt and tried to hit it across the back and legs while he bounced from place to place around it, tossing a fireball or lightning ark here and there. 

It wasn’t until Bam saw that the monster was panting and bleeding as well as Khun heaving that he whipped out his pistols. One shot from each and then a shout, “ **Full House** !” his pistols glowed blue and Bam squeezed the triggers at the same time, hitting the Gorger in the chest. Erupting into flames from one of Khun’s charged fire attacks, the monster toppled over, its weight shaking the ground when it did so. “There we go. Come here, Khun-ssi, I can heal you a bit.” 

_ Khun-ssi _ . Was Bam Korean, too? Unexpecting the honorific, he blinked a couple times before shaking out of it and walked over, a bit shaky from exertion. “Heal me? I don’t have any injuries, though…” he furrowed his brows in confusion.

Bam smiled and spun his pistols around, making them glow white, and pointed them at Khun, “ **Clean Slate** .” The white glow flowed from the pistols and into Khun, making his body tingle before the glow faded. “How’s that feel?”

Blinking, Khun flexed his hand where he’d been clutching the sword and was quick to realize that his muscles, in general, didn’t feel so sore. “I feel better,” he confirmed. So Bam could heal more than a cut or scrape? That was really useful. “Bam…” he watched the brunet for a moment, “Did you know that was going to happen? The Gorger?”

Bam shifted and Khun narrowed his eyes. Wincing, he nodded, “There’s something really strange going on in Kingsmouth. I don’t know if it’s all of Solomon Island, but…you’ve heard about other Chosen being sent here. I was here for three weeks, nearly a month. I’ve noticed a lot of things even though I haven’t really explored around the other side of the bridge near the airstrip and junkyard.” He reached out and gently took Khun’s wrist, leading him away from the corpses of the zombies and Gorger, back to the road and Khun let him since it was safer to talk as they walked. 

“So what exactly have you noticed? Things are on repeat, like Groundhog’s Day or something?” Khun felt the loss when Bam let him go and didn’t really know why.

“You could say that. The people still remember me, I think because I come around so much I’ve managed to be enough of an influence on them, but I’ve heard the exact same mission given to several different people from Mr. Boone. Find out what makes the zombies tick, why they keep coming back. It’s like that all over town.” Bam sighed, “Anyway, we have a lot to do and you need to improve quickly, so let’s continue and get some basic tasks done. There are plenty of regular zombies around you can practice on, as well as…other things.”

That caught Khun’s attention. Other things? Other monsters? More like that Gorger? He nodded, “Right.” He followed after him quickly as Bam turned heel and made his way across the road. After walking a short distance, they came across a policeman’s body. Kneeling down, Bam’s words about ‘repeat events’ reeling in his mind, Khun plucked the note from the officer’s hand. 

_ Don’t try to be a hero, just get all the ammo you can find and get the hell back here. Lives depend on it! _ \-  **Deputy Andy**

The station needed more ammo, and when he stood up he saw boxes of ammo in the back of the red truck the body was in front of. Glancing at Bam, all the brunet did was lower his gaze. With a sigh, Khun went and grabbed one of the boxes. Nodding once to one another, Bam led the way past the Kingsmouth sign, along the curved part of the road. Finally the local police station was in sight. The entire building was surrounded by tall iron fences along with people with rifles and shotguns in their hands. Their expressions were cold as they watched them walk past.

Before they managed to get into the building itself, there was a buzz from his pocket and Bam made a ‘mm-hmm’ sound as if he had been expecting it. Tugging his phone out, Khun checked and saw there was an email. From the Dragon. 

**To:** **_Khun Aguero Agnis, Call Sign TBD_ **

**Subject:** **_For a Fistfull of Zombies_ **

_ The habits of the deceased are interesting. It appears they can be lured like dogs, but unlike dogs, they show no signs of learning the lessons of the whip. _

_ Use this to your advantage. If a tactic is effective, be merciless. _

_ Their biology is curious; no heartbeat, no flow of blood, and no evidence of brain activity. So how will you know when the dead are really dead? _

_ You will simply know. _

“These emails are the same for you, too?” Khun placed the phone back, “There was also something at the bottom that said I earned some shards and a bag?”

“Yeah they are, and that’s the reward system. Gotta bribe us somehow, right?” Bam rubbed his forehead, “There’s an anima well behind the building. You might’ve seen the glow coming in. Our supply drops are there, usually weapons, sometimes gear like belts and talismans. This way we can upgrade our stuff. The shards are the Faction currency. Yeah, you still have the main bank from your old life, but the anima shards and tokens are how you buy upgrade kits, special items, and there’s a hub that’s a Neutral Ground in London where you can buy new clothes.” Bam motioned to the jacket and boots he was wearing, smiling like he was proud of picking his own outfit.

Khun found it incredibly endearing. Who was this guy? It was rare for Khun to feel like this towards anyone. “You look good in it. You’ll have to show me when we get the chance. Do these shards and tokens buy us places to sleep, too?”

Bam lit up, “Yeah! I mean, I’ve been sleeping in the houses abandoned here, but there are Inns and Hotels that Chosen get to stay at.”

“If you’re able to do that, then why have you been so concerned about Viole?” Khun tilted his head. They’d been so concerned about each other. “Why don’t you two just…meet up at one of these places?”

Bam shook his head, “Where Viole is doesn’t seem to get reception on his phone. A magical barrier at Innsmouth Academy, from what I understand. He’s able to give me an update if he’s okay maybe once a week. Twice if we’re lucky.”

“Thanks to Wangnan, right? Or, uh…Red Bull?” Khun’s brows pinched, trying to keep up with everything. He was tired, but his mind kept spinning, and he didn’t know how long they’d be out and about, either.

“Yeah, Wangnan felt a pull to go back there and check on what’s been going on here in Solomon Island, and stumbled across Viole getting attacked by some group that’s stationed on the road between Innsmouth and the tunnel to the Savage Coast.” Bam pushed Khun to go further into the building so they weren’t blocking the door with their conversation. A rifle shot and a zombie scream reached their ears from beyond the gate.

So that’s what Wangnan meant when he teased Viole about ‘saving his ass’. Okay, one mystery solved at a time, though it was irritating how one question was answered and more cropped up. “Alright, I get it. So what’s next?”

“Sheriff Bannerman will explain things to you, and the rest we’ll figure out together.” Bam explained. Pulling away from the phone booth he called to the woman facing the board on the back wall, “Ms. Bannerman! Another one’s joined the fray. Have time for the low-down?” He pushed his back gently to send him forward, Bannerman turning from the bulletin board to face them.

“Half expected you to tell me your twin was back, Bam,” Bannerman waved at them to come closer so she wouldn’t have to shout.

Bam only smiled, but Khun noted how sad it was and that it didn’t really reach his eyes. “Not today, ma’am, sorry.”

“Heck if I know where you folks keep coming from, but anyone who walks through that door  _ alive  _ pretty much gets my amnesty.” Bannerman shrugged and pinned her gaze on Khun, “Something in your path calls you sourly to our badge, I’d ask you to call it quits and return. We agreeable?” 

She earned a nod from the young man in response. “Well, then. I’m Sheriff Bannerman, and this down home little state of emergency is what’s left of my jurisdiction. Sure, we tried to hold as much of the town as we put at first, more out of nostalgia than any civil defense plan. I won’t tell you Kingsmouth was a slice of heaven in a snow globe, but it was ours. Now it ain’t. It was always something running under in this town; maybe what’s spilled out now. If that’s how it works; I couldn’t say hands-on heart we didn’t have it coming. But that fog, and things in it…” She paused briefly as a heavy sigh left her, “…They didn’t pick and choose when they came in. Most folk didn’t stand a chance.”

Khun frowned as he watched the solemn expression cross Bannerman’s face. Everyone was suffering, on Groundhog Day repeat. “Now I can see you’re armed,” the sheriff woman nodded to the weapons on his hips, “So I won’t pick up any fuss about that. Straight truth is, you’ll need to be. Just don’t go thinking that you’re deputized or such. Heaven knows if there was ever a time and a place for the right to bear ‘em, you’re looking at it. Henry has his word of God, that Roget woman has her crystal ball, and Norma out on the point’s got a 12 gauge. My money’s on Norma.” There was a soft chuckle and Khun wondered if Bam had met all these people already.

"You heard it yourself, now it's just up to you what you want to do." Bam shrugged, watching Khun nod and decide to speak with the Sheriff again.

After asking what he could do to get started, Khun watched Bannerman lift her head with a small smile. “There is one thing.” She answered and proceeded to explain the situation. “Well, sure wasn’t an ideal budget to put the town under marshall law. Now, the good ol’ boys of the Council were all about thrifty spending, at least above the table. So I squirreled away where I could with some surveillance equipment. Police business, sure, uh… Let’s call ‘civic awareness’,” she air quoted and Khun snorted, “I’m talking about your webcams, your motion sensors.”

Bannerman chuckled lightly. “Kingsmouth might be out in the sticks, but we have electricity and everything. Running water, and tourist season. Come back when this whole damn mess is blown over; I’ll give you the tour as far as the old lighthouse. But uh, to get to the point of it. Seems to me we should bring that gear out of mothballs and get it hooked up around town. Gives me some early warning and the others a break from my collection of Jeopardy reruns.”

Bam laughed quietly and nodded to Bannerman before motioning to Khun to follow him, “Alright, for this one we  _ did _ have cameras set up, but the zombies end up destroying them over time. When they do, they end up reappearing back where they originally came from for the cycle to begin again. So, let’s go grab the one where the gas station is. Follow me, Khun-ssi. Oh! Right, but first the ammo for Andy and the anima well.” 

“Sure, lead the way,” he nodded firmly and he arched a brow as Bam hopped his way out of the building. Curving around the corner after going down the ramp, he really did see the warm yellow-orange glow. There were zombies clawing at the metal fencing, but underneath the stairs was a green duffle bag with the Dragon symbol on it. Inside was a talisman necklace, a chain belt, and…a hammer was stuffed inside, too. Khun wondered if the weapons and items were random.

Since neither of them really needed the hammer, Bam let Khun upgrade his wire doll with it. When he was done, Khun attached it to the chain and clicked it to his main belt, feeling like some fashion disaster as he did. His sword stayed attached to the belt holding up his slacks. It was a little clunky, but the chain was clearly enchanted along with the talisman necklace, so he would take the extra fortification where he could find it.

“Once you get more anima wells to react to you, you’ll be able to use them as portals and teleport between locations, too,” Bam explained kneeling down and patting at the green grass that was certainly out of place with the season, “The Agartha Entrance has a well nearby it, so if we want to we can use any of the ones around Kingsmouth to go there and then go to one of those Inns I was telling you about. Though, I do have my own little base if you don’t mind bunking with me.”

“Like I’m going to say  _ no _ ,” Khun scoffed lightly, rolling his eyes and Bam laughed, muttering ‘fair’ under his breath before standing. Khun followed him from under the stairs and dropped the useless hammer by the man tinkering on a workbench for some random survivor to use instead. From there they went  _ up _ the stairs to the roof of the police station, and Khun spotted a few snipers stationed at the corners. Smart. 

Bam walked up to Andy and tapped on his shoulder causing the young man to spook a little but then brighten when he saw him, “Hey, Andy, you doin’ alright up here?” he asked kindly, giving the other a one-armed hug and a pat on his back, Andy mirroring him. 

“As alright as I can be. Still no Viole? Who’s your new friend?” Andy looked curiously at Khun and perked when Khun put the box of ammo in the crate with the rest, “Oh, wow! That’s awesome, thanks!”

Khun bowed his head, “Not a problem. You can call me Khun.”

“Khun, huh?” Andy mused, “Well, good to meet you, kid.” Ironic, since Andy barely looked much older than either of them. He gave Bam a weary smile, “Is this the one you were waitin’ for, then?”

“Mr. Boone seemed to think so, so I’m taking him around to learn the ropes.” Bam agreed softly. Khun’s eyes narrowed a fraction. Was that a blush? Hmm. Probably not. “We’re wondering what you might have for us to do?”

Andy tilted his head at Khun, “I hope you’re able to stick through the hardships coming your way…” he looked out towards the docks and frowned, clearly troubled, “I might have something after all…”

Bam sighed, “That time again…I guess that’s on our way to the gas station anyway.” He muttered under his breath. Khun watched him with a bit of concern.

“Jeez…” Andy spoke up and breathed out slowly as he watched the undead try to come through the barricades, only to be shot down by a barrage of bullets. “You never saw anything like this in the cop shows. Well, maybe on cable; not the network ones.” He shook his head to look back at Khun. “You wouldn’t know it from looking out there, but… Before that wicked bad fog rolled in, Kingsmouth was a sleepy little berg. Nothing stronger on the streets than a hot cup of coffee and chocolate glazed donuts from Suzie’s. The occasional DUY of domestic disturbance… Human sacrifice…” A hand lifted its way up to his mouth.

_ ‘Human sacrifice?’  _ Khun stared at Andy in disbelief. Here?  _ Before _ the fog and whatever Groundhog day rewind kept happening? What the shit?

“But every town has a dark side, right?” Andy said it like it was normal and Khun found himself suddenly wondering what the hell was wrong with this town. Bannerman had said they might’ve had it coming. Was this what she meant? “We sure are getting a heap ton of the darkness now, eh? The walking dead and worse besides taking over our town… The survivors holed up in here hoping it’s all just a bad dream and we’ll wake up to the smell of bacon and maple syrup. Unless someone ups and does something, and  _ soon _ , all we’re gonna be waking up to is the smell of rotten flesh…and I don’t need another thing reminding me of my dad.” He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, noticing the blue-haired man’s wary gaze. “Halloween does bring back the memories, eh?”

Bam jerked his head over towards the docks and Andy gave a solemn little nod, so Bam turned to Khun, “Now for the fun part. C’mon, we need to get to the barricades.” He pointed down and then easily hopped onto the edge of the roof and jumped, not even bothering to use the stairs. 

Rushing over, a bit horrified Bam had just  _ jumped _ , he saw the brunet was…absolutely fine down there, looking up at him all  _ expectantly _ . Was he…able to do that, too? “What, you expect me to jump?” he called down.

“Yup!” Bam confirmed all cheery and beaming. Khun didn’t know if he liked how confident he was. Still…Bam hadn’t led him astray yet, so he breathed in deeply and made a little ‘hup’ sound as he took a step back and  _ jumped _ .

When he landed it was a bit jarring, his feet and legs tingling from the impact, but he was otherwise…fine. He gave Bam a little side-eye, “Does all this power and energy strengthen my body, too?”

“Yup!” Bam was just being cheeky now and Khun poked his side, making the other giggle and jerk away. It was strange, how easy that was. Like they were friends or something, only they’d just met. With practiced ease, Bam hopped onto the cars and barrels and over the barricade fence. 

Khun rolled his eyes and climbed onto the vehicles stacked on top of each other and over the barricade as well. Once he reached Bam, he followed his gaze towards the docks. Naturally, the fog was much thicker up ahead. “What’s waiting for us over there?” He asked, clenching his hands into fists.

“We’re about to get a horde rush. You take care of the corner over there, and I’ll handle what comes this way.” Bam ordered, his expression stoic and his gold eyes glowed almost orange as the green-purple Chaos wisped around his fingers. “Time for a wild ride.”

“Got it.” It was interesting, watching Bam get all serious and Khun’s stomach flipped with the dangerous smirk. With a firm nod, he rushed to his designated area. As soon as the alarm blared at the station behind them, zombies bull-rushed to get past the barricade. 

With lighting, fire, and ice dancing on his palms, Khun managed to take down several of the undead that charged at him. One nearly tackled him to the ground, but he managed to make the creature trip over his foot. Once it was on the ground he stomped on its wrist hard enough to make it screech in pain, using his lightning magic to finish it off. There were more coming and he glared in their direction.

At one point near the barricade beside the station, Khun nearly got overwhelmed, but with two white bullets causing a blood splatter near his head, Khun had to give Bam a thumbs up and the other nodded, going back to the fight. 

Working together and going in a circle around the station, the two managed to keep the zombies off the barricades until it died down. “It’s not over yet.” Bam shook his head as Khun started looking proud of himself, “Down this road. We’re still going to be rushed, so be keen.”

Khun released a long breath. “The sooner we get this done, the better.” He muttered to himself, rushing after Bam when the dark-haired man took off. 

Taking several more hordes of undead down the street, a zombie managed to catch Khun off guard and scratch his arm with its nails. With a small hiss of pain, he glared at the undead creature and unleashed fireball attacks until its rotting corpse fell to the ground. “Damn things…” He grumbled under his breath, looking back to see that Bam had stopped to wait for him.

“If you want to avoid the zombies, stay close to me,” Bam informed, spinning his pistols and using  **Clean Slate** . “Your wounds will take care of themselves quickly over time thanks to our natural powers, but I’ll heal you as necessary. If we continue to be attacked, I’ll kill a few while you take care of the rest. Experience is everything right now, I’m just your support.”

“Sorry about that…” Khun frowned, ignoring the stinging and then itching sensation on his arm. After a couple seconds, the pain faded and the wound had vanished. This was definitely something that he was going to have to get used to. “Let’s go.”

Bam kept to his word, leading Khun in a sort of zig-zag down the road, but as Khun was still the ‘prey’ of the situation, even if they avoided them sometimes they would smell fresh meat and bolt after him. This resulted in Bam getting fed up with how quickly they rushed and with a hard stomp on the ground, his Chaos magic purple burst out on the ground, creating a distortion around the zombies and essentially re-killing them. With an unimpressed expression, the brunet watched them flop onto the asphalt and jerked his head at Khun, silently telling him to keep going.

Eventually, both men reached the source. Khun’s breath was caught in his throat as he looked up at the monstrous blue-green figure. “What in the actual hell?!” It had spikes on its wide shoulders, a tiny torso, and thin legs, and its arms were bigger than they were, claws for hands. Water and seaweed dripped from its body, creating a puddle on the ground.

“It’s a Draug Warmonger, Khun-ssi!” Bam had to shout over the roaring, “Stay focused, watch out for its attacks. I’ll get the small fries.” With a flourish and a flick of a wrist, he fired from his pistols. This thing kept summoning more to try and fight the boys off, but Bam was well versed in its tactics and his Chaos magic drew a lot of their attention by generating hate. As Khun focused his abilities, the giant draug weakened with each passing moment before it finally gave one last bellow and toppled over, dissolving into water and sea sludge. “That thing is the reason we get horde rushes sometimes. They come up out of the sea and start summoning them from all over. It culls the zombies for a little while, at least, since the siren draws them from across town, too.”

Khun looked down at the monster’s remains with heavy breaths puffing his chest. His hands rested on his knees while he tried to suck air back into his lungs. “I see…” he wheezed a bit, “I’m glad we managed to stop it for now.” He wiped his brow and glanced at Bam with a small smile. He managed to push himself this far; maybe he could go further with the fellow Dragon’s guidance.

Bam ran his hand through his bangs and sighed deeply. As He saw sweat dripping down Khun’s temple and forehead, “I’m not a drill sergeant…” He muttered to himself, “At least gathering the surveillance is fairly easy. You’ll be able to catch your breath and then we can rest for tonight, too. I’m sure you want to talk.”

Boy did he and it would be welcome to have someone who knew what the hell was happening. “Fine, fine. Let’s get the damn cameras.”

A buzz on his phone and Khun stuck close to Bam as they made their way to the gas station nearby. Another report email.

**Subject:** **_Elm Street Blues_ **

_ Fascinating. The “draug” are an ancient Nordic variety of undead, and they appear to have dominion over the unliving locals. There are indeed primitive records of Nordic involvement in Kingsmouth. Tales of Vikings passed down as whispers rather than recorded history. _

_ We will follow up on the historical links. What we need from you are further observations regarding draug activity along the shore.  _

_ We are particularly interested in their capacity to direct the local attacks. _

More shards and another bag for his reward. They could get it when they went back to the station. “How do I even access the shards and tokens, anyway?” 

“It’s digital and recorded on your phone.” Reaching the gas station, Bam didn’t even waste time and shot his hand out, bullets flying, killing a bunch of undead huddled by the trash dump behind the building. A bigger brute zombie lumbered out from around the corner hearing the commotion, and Bam arched a brow at his charge, “After you.”

After the draug? Really? Scowling at Bam, he huffed. His fire and ice magic flew to the larger undead creature. It howled in agony as he continued his onslaught of spells, eventually watching it fall to the ground lifeless. 

Bam pointed at a trash bin, “Climb on that, we need to go to the roof.” 

Thankfully the lid was already down and Khun climbed up onto it and leaped onto the gas station roof. As he moved to the edge to grab the security camera, he looked up and his eyes widened at the sight. 

Khun would never realize how beautiful this town was until he had gotten a better view of it. It was a shame that the natural beauty was spoiled by the undead and whatever creatures that lurked within the ocean’s depths. Admiring the view a little bit longer, He noticed a ship docked at the harbor, narrowing his eyes at the red algae that clung to it. “Bam! What is that ship over there?” He called to the other man behind him, kneeling and grabbing the security camera as he did so.

“That…” Bam stared out over the low water of what was supposed to be the docking bay, “…is the Lady Margaret. The reason for this awful fog that comes and goes like the waves.” He looked up at the sky, and even if it was clear of clouds, there was a grey haze that obscured the sun a bit. “Hopefully we’ll learn more of that soon. Keep in mind, I did a lot of stuff while I was here but there’s still plenty I don’t know. C’mon, we have to grab some more.” Turning around, he headed off the roof again.

Khun watched him leave and glanced back at the view one last time. Tucking the security camera safely in his backpack he jogged after Bam and climbed down off the roof. There was a camera by one one of the stores they traveled to, and another on the outside of the museum. 

Getting back to the station, there was a telephone pole, the side of a house, and a tree where they were able to replace the old ones with the brand new ones. With that done, Bam led him back inside the police station where Khun could activate them using the computer.

“Alright. So that’s done.” Bam patted Khun’s shoulder, “Good job. The Dragon will be calling you soon, they have a way of knowing what we’re up to. Probably with the cameras around here and other means. They don’t interfere or control our lives, they just observe.” Sure enough, Khun’s went off, but this time so did Bam’s. The brunet reached into the leg pack that was holstered around his thigh. 

**Subject:** **_Horror Show_ **

_ Very well, _

_ Data from these cameras is being transferred to important monitors. Eyes will be assigned to watch these monitors at all times. Now the Dragon will see our enemies in Kingsmouth, as well as the enemies of our enemies - The Templars and the Illuminati. _

_ The cleaning man - he showed symptoms of a very rare, very old disease. He was not like the living, and not like the dead. Tentacles do not come from the head without reasons. _

_ Please provide more information about the reasons. _

Khun read the message carefully and he peered over at Bam. “Are these messages copied and pasted to the masses? What  _ cleaning man _ ? Tentacles?”

Bam pulled a face and sighed, “They are. Inside the museum basement, there are a ton of laser traps, and Viole and I crossed a man who had blackened skin and inky, slimy tentacles coming from his body, namely his head. He attacks people who come down there. I did you a favor and avoided that whole mess, considering that was my first death thanks to getting caught by one of the security lights and getting blown up.” His expression was deadpan at Khun’s wide-eyed expression. “Yeah, a quick death but not fun. Viole had to finish that one since I was revived at the anima well we were at earlier.”

Khun gulped a bit. So Bam had already died once, if not more. Wangnan’s warning that you experience every death came to mind and he cursed softly. Clearing his throat, he shifted uncomfortably, “Thank you, then…What do we do now?” He wondered if after all that running around, he’d be able to sleep. “What was yours about?”

“It seems to be they’re pleased I’m on the move again.” Bam pocketed his phone, “There’s a lot that needs to be taken care of in this town. Are you ready for it, Khun-ssi?”

“As ready as I can be. I’m getting sick of using the same couple attacks, though…shouldn’t I be able to learn new skills soon?” Khun waved his phone a bit, referring to the abilities app.

Bam’s smile was a little brighter this time and it relieved Khun, “Yeah, I can explain that to you, too. C’mon, I’ll show you to my little hideaway and we’ll rest for the day.”

Goddamn, it was about fucking time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will probably take longer to produce bc I'm trying to decide the order of how I want to do things in said chap
> 
> find me on twitter @sunsetvampcat !!!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I took creative liberties with how Khun left his apartment.
> 
> In the Dragon version of "yesterday" there's a mute monk who comes and kidnaps the player, so when I crossed the Templar's version and they INVITE you instead I'm like...I know exactly who I can use to replace this scene and make it a) way more interesting b) appeal to the TOG fandom while I'm at it. That "who" was Hansung Yu. In the OG it's a woman who gives the envelope.


End file.
